Comparing the Speed and Gait of the World’s Fastest Dog With Those of the World’s Fastest Cat

Sam Hume and Simon Lewis of BBC Earth (previously) decided to document the speed and gait of the world’s fastest dog, the greyhound. They wanted to see how the dog would compare to the previously documented, amazing speed and gait of the world’s fastest cat, the cheetah.

The men clocked the dog’s speed and then slowed down the footage in order to see the gait in great detail. They noted that both the greyhound and the cheetah have very similar running patterns. The difference between the two, however, is that the canine doesn’t vary stride length and frequency, while the feline does.

Cheetahs are faster than greyhounds …It’s not all that clear because they’re running really similar style but basically the some. Researchers at the Royal Ventura College in London discovered the greyhounds aren’t very good at increasing the frequency of their stride whereas cheetahs are really good at swinging their legs forward and building up.