AKC Fast CAT® Events at BACM
- Mark your calendars and plan to have some Fast CAT fun with us again in August, 2025 (Friday-Sunday). Five trials are likely.
- This event will be open at a discount to Junior Handlers who have a Junior Handler Certification.
About Fast CAT
Nothing moves faster than a dog when you are trying to catch him, or so it seems. Have you ever wondered how fast your dog actually can run? Now you can find out! Fast CAT®, a Coursing Ability Test, is a timed 100-yard dash.
A Bit of History
A highly popular and relatively new sport, Fast CAT is a great way to start in AKC sports. It is one of the few events where all that’s needed is a dog’s natural instincts.
Fast CAT is an outdoor pass/fail test that consists of a 100-yard dash using a straight course. The time it takes the dog to move from start to finish is converted to MPH and then to points. For taller dogs, the MPH and the total points are equivalent. For smaller dogs, the MPH is converted to points using a handicap.
Eligibility
Fast CAT events are open to all dogs that are at least 12 months of age (day of trial) and individually registered with the AKC via one of the following:
- AKC Registration as one of the AKC’s recognized breeds.
- AKC Canine Partners, which is for mixed-breed dogs and dogs ineligible for AKC registration.
- Purebred Alternative Listing (PAL) program, for purebred dogs that cannot be fully registered with the AKC to participate in AKC events.
- Foundation Stock Service®(FSS), which is for recorded breeds on the road to full AKC recognition.
Dogs with breed disqualifications and monorchid/cryptorchids are eligible to participate.
All dogs on the event grounds must be free of communicable diseases or internal or external parasites and up-to-date on appropriate vaccinations.
Females in season may NOT enter.
An inspection committee will inspect each dog for lameness, estrus, and fitness to compete.
Fast CAT Runs
A participant may enter only ONCE per event.
An entry, running alone, shall receive a qualifying run when the dog completes a 100-yard straight course. All dogs will run once per entry unless an equipment failure occurs.
At BACM events, break-the-beam equipment is used to obtain times for each dog. The lure is a white plastic bag on a continuous loop system. The surface is grass and the run area is fenced with snow fencing.
Be Ready
This event takes place outdoors, where the mountain foothills meet the high plains. In August, the sun can be intense, the air may be remarkably dry, and the wind usually blows. Be sure that your dog is well-hydrated before and after a run and that your dog’s nails are trimmed. You’ll thank yourself if you remember to give your dog a potty break before his run. For yourself, bring sunscreen, a hat, dark glasses, and a source of hydration.
Consider your dog’s overall conditioning level, your dog’s breed type and coat type, and whether she has difficulty in extreme heat or cold (yes, it can occasionally be colder than you might expect in August in the high plains). The sight of the lure racing away may excite your dog to the point that she pushes herself too hard. As a result, you will want to use good judgment each time you run your dog so you don’t put your dog into a situation that is potentially dangerous for her.
Inspection at Check-in
The Inspection Committee will inspect each entry for lameness, fitness to compete, and females in season. Any entry found, in the opinion of the Inspection Committee, to be lame, unfit to compete, or a female in season shall not be allowed to enter. Entry fees shall be refunded if the Inspection Committee judges the dog unable to participate.
Running Order
Many Fast CAT participants are also participating in other BACM events this weekend. So, the Fast CAT Committee developed a flexible system for determining the running order. (Thank you, Lacy Meisner!)
The running order is the order in which you present your Entry Card to the designated Field Trial person. Each exhibitor will receive one Entry Card per entry and can present the card when they are ready to complete their Fast CAT entry.
Opportunities for Volunteers
There is almost always a way for volunteers to help. There are dozens of little things that need to happen to make a successful Fast CAT event, tasks ideal for volunteers. These may range from monitoring the automatic timers for proper alignment at all times, to serving as catchers or releasers, to ensuring that catchers and releasers are in place before a dog runs, to recording each dog’s qualifying time. If you would like to pitch in, even if you are quite new to the scene, please let the Trial Committee Chair know.
Our Venue
Fast CAT will take place outdoors on a grass field with snow fencing. Break-the-beam equipment is used to obtain times for each dog. The lure is a white plastic bag on a continuous loop system.
If you enter the building, and we hope you feel welcome to do so, we ask that you help us keep the new indoor turf like new and abide by a couple of simple suggestions about footwear listed below.
Yellowstone Dog Sports
(8 miles south of Roberts, Montana)
7753 Hwy 212, Roberts, MT 59070
Contact: [email protected]
The BACM Obedience events take place indoors on rubber mats. Our Agility and Rally events also take place indoors on artificial turf with rubber infill. Please remember to wear indoor shoes, socks, or bare feet when on the indoor turf.
This spacious facility is pleasant, well-maintained, and newly renovated. We ask that you bring indoor shoes, separate from your normal shoes, to wear whenever you are on the turf. Wearing covers on your shoes when outside is an alternative, as is walking barefoot or in socks on the indoor turf. We want this flooring to last a long, long time. You can help by not tracking in dirt, sand, gravel, snow, mud, or grit.
The building will open for exhibitors at 6:30 on Friday morning. Indoor crating is available; ex-pens may be used with two or more dogs. Crates or ex-pens — not dogs — may be left in the building overnight during an event at the owner’s risk. A warm-up area, consisting of a regulation agility jump, is to be used exclusively for warming up the dog, never for training or relieving the dog. All dogs must be on a leash, crated, or in an ex-pen at all times when on trial grounds except when in the designated warm-up area or competing on the course.
For those competing in the Rally Ring and those crating their dogs on the agility turf, please read the following information carefully.
- No muddy, wet, or dirty shoes are allowed on the turf. We suggest you have a set of clean and dry shoes set aside for wearing on the turf and in the Rally Ring. When you are going outside, please wear your outside shoes. You do not need to remove or change your shoes as soon as you enter the building. The entry mats and black mats are there to collect most of the outside dirt and mud. However, we do ask that you change into dry and clean shoes before walking on the turf both inside the Rally Ring and outside it.
- Most judges do not allow you to compete in socks, so having a clean pair of shoes is important if you compete in Rally.
- Some people wear overshoes or boots when they go outside to potty their dogs. Then they can slip off the overshoes when they enter the turf area. YDS has paper booties also; however, these booties wear out after one or two outings in mud or snow.
- The new turf is very nice, and we want to keep it that way for a long time. YDS appreciates your cooperation in wearing only clean and dry shoes on the turf.
One last thing: Please potty your dog before you enter the Competition Ring. A $10 “accident fee” will apply to the turfed area.
Resources
It’s easy to get started with Fast CAT. Show up at an event, talk to people participating, and maybe sign up for a trial run or two. If you are the sort who wants to just dive right in, just fill out our entry form, pay the fees, and you will be all set to check in on the day of the event.
- FAST CAT Regulations
- Junior Handler Certification
- Harnessing Your Dog’s Instinct To Chase
- Top 20 Fastest Dogs by Breed
Previous events
2024 Fast CAT Premium (for reference only)
2023 Fast CAT Premium (for reference only)