Plott Hound

The Plott Hound is a no-frills dog, built to follow cold trails at speed over rough terrain and through water in all weather, and to grapple with large animals, including bear, once cornered. It is streamlined and agile, yet powerful with great endurance. The hair is short to medium in length, fine to medium coarse in texture. When trailing, the Plott is bold and confident, not backing down from a challenge. Its voice is open and unrestricted, with a loud bugle-like chop or bawl.

Bred for generations as a bear and coon dog, the Plott's first nature is to sniff up a cold trail and follow it to the end. Yet the Plott makes the transition to family dog with ease, being eager to please and loyal. This is an extremely courageous breed, and, as befitting any good hound, it can be headstrong. Plotts can be wary of strangers, but generally warm up quickly. They are not as gregarious with other dogs as some hounds, and true to their bear-hunting heritage, can be ferocious fighters if pushed. They may tree the family cat!

The Plott Hound is the only American hound without British ancestry. In 1750 Jonathan Plott and his brother left Germany bound for America. They took with them five Hanoverian Hounds. Jonathan Plott's brother died during the trip but Jonathan settled in North Carolina. It was there that he raised a family and bred his dogs. A mix of Bloodhounds and Curs reportedly comprised the original stock. For the next 200 years the dogs were bred by generations of Plott family members and were referred to as the Plott's hounds. The dogs worked at hunting bear and raccoon in the Appalachian, Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains of the eastern United States. The Plott family rarely put the dogs on the market so they remained rare outside the southern United States. The dogs were recognized for the first time in 1946 by the United Kennel Club. Plotts are hardy and have superior hunting instincts. They are very effective in the search for coyotes, wolves and wildcats. The breed was carefully developed to be stronger and more persistent. They were able to make good family companions but were seldom kept as such, as most owners acquired the dogs for the hunt. In 2006 the breed was officially recognized by the AKC as the "Plott" and is now shown as a show dog, but there are many who still hunt and breed them as hunting dogs.