While many dogs enjoy a life of leisure, snuggling up in their favorite blanket and watching TV, others thrive on an active lifestyle filled with dog sports such as agility runs, playing fetch, or catching frisbees. Certain breeds have been specifically bred with athletic bodies and incredible speed. In this video, an amazing dog sprints across a football field to catch a flying frisbee, setting a new world record!
Frisbee Rob and His Super Speedy Dogs
Catching a frisbee at high speeds requires a great deal of agility, coordination, and speed.
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Rob McLeod, also known as “Frisbee Rob”, is an avid disc golf athlete with several years of experience. Along with his dogs, Davey and Sailor, McLeod has set at least 13 world records, including the longest mini-flying disc throw caught by a dog (131 feet, 3 inches) and the farthest flying disc throw caught by a dog (402 feet).
In the video above, McLeod and Sailor broke the record for the longest catch at a live sporting event (327 feet). This occurred during halftime of the 2021 Calgary Stampeders vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders game. McLeod threw the frisbee across a standard Canadian Football League field, requiring Sailor to run 109 yards to make the catch.
What Kind of Dog Is Sailor?
Whippets are related to greyhounds and Italian greyhounds.
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Sailor is a border whippet (a cross between a border collie and a whippet). These dogs have loving, social personalities, in addition to their intelligence, high energy, and athleticism. Attentive and trainable, they are very smart, adaptable, and focused. However, they can also be stubborn, especially if their needs aren’t met. Border whippets need plenty of physical exercise and mental stimulation, which is why many of these dogs enjoy participating in various dog sports.
How Fast Can Dogs Run?
Border collies love to engage their incredible memories, strength, and speed in both work and play.
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While most dog breeds can sprint 15 to 20 miles per hour, dogs like Sailor are built for much greater speeds. Whippets are one of the 10 fastest dog breeds in the world, reaching speeds of up to 35 mph. These dogs are not only fast but also excel in acceleration. They commonly participate in professional dog competitions.
Border collies are also among the world’s fastest breeds, running up to 30 mph. They are also considered one of the most intelligent breeds and can perform complex tasks even while running.
As you can imagine, a combination of these two speedy breeds creates the perfect dog for long-distance frisbee throws. In the video above, Sailor caught the frisbee in approximately eight seconds, meaning she needed to run at least 28 mph to reach the other end of the 100-yard field in time. McLeod believes Sailor could go even farther and catch a frisbee thrown 120 to 130 yards.
