How fast do dogs run?

But there are unique ones who are able to show results almost twice as fast. The speed of these swift-footed nuggets is fantastic – up to 65 km / h.

The fastest dogs in the world

The hunting English Greyhound is recognized as the champion of all champions. Her speed at around 67,32 km / h is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. Incredibly, this is more than 18 meters per second – none of her relatives run so fast.

These slender champions are tall at the withers – at least 70 cm, with an average weight of no more than 40 kg. These swift-footed individuals have long limbs, a muscular body structure. They are extremely good at short distances, but long runs are beyond their strength and are clearly contraindicated. They are unable to chase game for long due to lack of stamina.

Persian greyhounds – salukis – are slightly inferior to greyhounds in speed – their limit is 65 km / h. However, they are more resilient. Their height at the withers does not exceed 70 cm, weight – up to 25 kg. Despite the rather dry build, these are physically strong dogs.

Arabian greyhounds – sluggs – reach speeds of up to 65 km / h, in terms of endurance they are absolutely not inferior to salukas. True, unlike them, sluggies are incredibly flexible, capable of sharp turns. Their height at the withers is up to 72 cm, weight – up to 32 kg. These dogs have beautiful thin skin and high muscular limbs.

dog racing

The first races of greyhounds for an artificial hare date back to 1776, when the British began to practice them. Since then, certain rules have been developed that regulate these ancient competitions. For example, a dog can start a running career no earlier than nine months old, and end at nine years old.

Only dogs of one breed are allowed to compete. In order for the dogs to run onto the track at the same time, there are doors in the starting boxes at the back where the dogs are launched, and there is a grate in the front. When the grate is raised, the dogs quickly run out into the distance in pursuit of the “game”.

The winner is the dog that is lucky enough to be the first to cross the finish line.

In Europe, special stadiums for running (kinodromes) began to appear more than a hundred years ago. Each dog track has its own specifics: the length of the track is from 450 to 500 meters and the rules – start with a handicap, a long track with barriers.

It is known that in our country dog ​​races were held at the Moscow hippodrome in the 1930s. Then all this was forgotten for a long sixty years. In modern times, the first open championship of Russia in greyhound racing took place only in 1990.

Today, the former Moscow stadium “Bitsa” has been converted into a movie theater, where races are sometimes held on weekends. The distance on it is very short – only 180 meters, but this competition in heat becomes even sharper.