General Appearance
A hunting hound of striking color that traditionally brings big game to bay or tree, the Plott Hound is intelligent, alert and confident. Noted for stamina, endurance, agility, determination and aggressiveness when hunting, the powerful, well muscled, yet streamlined Plott combines courage with athletic ability.
Owning
In Germany, where the hunter's honor code demands that all game wounded or killed must be found, the Hanoverian Schweisshund (bloodhound) is respected for its ability to locate a wounded animal even though the trail is a week or more old. A brindle or red big game tracker, developed by crossing an ancient, huge, trailing hound much like the St. Hubert with a lighter and faster hound, The Hanoverian is still a favorite with German gamekeepers. In 1750, two young brothers left Germany and emigrated to America with three brindle and two buckskin Hanoverian Hounds. One boy died on the way but the other, sixteen year old Johannes Georg Plott, settled in Bute County, North Carolina and later in Lincoln County. He Anglicized his name to George, built a home, married, raised his family and bred his dogs. His son, Henry, continued the breeding program and for the next seven generations (over 200 years), the Plott's were mountain men who bred the family dogs and used them to hunt bear, and from the 1930's on, occasionally boar. As Plott men built homes and raised families all over the Smokey Mountains, their dogs became known by their family name and were referred to as the Plott's hounds. During that time hounds of similar breeding and type were raised by other mountain families and were likewise called by their owner's family name. After many generations, the Plott Hounds needed an outcross. A Plott breeder named Gola Ferguson carefully choose another well respected family hound, the tan, black saddled Blevins, and made the cross. Two of the resulting progeny were so exceptional that Ferguson bred them back to his pure Plot family and even used these dogs in their breeding program and, because of this cross, some brindle Plott hounds have a black saddle. As the fame of the Plott Hounds spread, coon hunters began to take an interest in those with treeing instinct. Because there are many more coonhunters in our country than there are bear and boar hunters, the Plott came to be classified as a coonhound. Even so, the Plott's traditional work is to track and bring to bay or tree big game such as bear, boar, and mountain lion and many Plotts today are still performing their original function. Capable of speedily traversing diverse types of terrain and water in all seasons, the Plott is a bold, aggressive trailer with an open, unrestricted voice. Plott ''music'' is distinguished by a loud, ringing chop on the track and the tree, although bawl or squall trailing mouths are also acceptable.
Temperament
Eager to please, loyal, intelligent, alert. Aggressive, bold, and fearless hunter. Disposition generally even, but varies among strains, with a distinction sometimes appearing between those bred for big game and those bred as coonhounds.
Did You Know
The Plott Hound entered the AKC registry on August 1, 1998, and entered the Miscellaneous Class on October 1, 1998.