Plott

Family: Scenthound

Origin: United States

Date of Origin: 1750

Breed For: Cold trailing, bear hunting

Lifespan:

Recently Used For: Cold trailing, bear, boar and raccoon hunting, night hunts

Avg Size of Male: Height: 20 - 25 Weight: 50 - 60

Avg Size of Female: Height:20 - 23 Weight: 40 - 55

Temperament:

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!

History:

Now the official state dog of North Carolina, the Plott's roots spring from Germany, where Hanoverian Schweisshunds were valued for their ability to hunt wild boars and track wounded game even over week-old trails. In 1750, 16-year-old Joahnnes Georg Plott brought five of these dogs with him to his new home in the Great Smoky Mountains. Although there were no wild boars there at the time, the dogs and their descendants proved themselves to be great cold trailers of large animals, especially bear. They didn't just find bear, but could hold at bay or even bring down a 500-pound bear. The Plott family bred their line of cold-trailing brindle dogs for seven generations, the dogs distributing across the Smoky Mountains as their family grew. Other mountain men incorporated the Plott blood into their own lines of dogs, but stories disagree as to the extent, if any, other strains were introduced to the Plotts. Some maintain an early cross with a "leopard-spotted bear dog," and others claim crosses to cur dogs for better treeing ability. It was not until the early 1900s that documented crosses with other lines were made to improve the Plott strain. At that time Gola Ferguson crossed his Plotts with a strain of black-saddled hounds known as Blevins or Great Smokies, producing "Tige" and "Boss," two hounds of such talent that even the Plott family incorporated their blood back into their line. This introduced the black-saddled brindle pattern into the breed. Almost all Plotts can be traced back to one of these dogs. Although used primarily for bear, boar and mountain lions, many Plotts were also adept at treeing raccoons, and coonhunters — far more populous than bear hunters — found them ideal for their needs. In 1946, the breed finally received the official name of Plott Hound when it was recognized by the UKC. It is the only UKC coonhound breed that doesn't trace back to foxhounds. In 1998, the AKC admitted the Plott into the Miscellaneous class.

Upkeep:

Plotts are easy keepers, but must have a securely fenced yard. They need canine or human companionship, and an opportunity to hunt or at least go for some woodland hikes. They enjoy swimming. Coat care is minimal.

Health:

Major concerns: none#Minor concerns: none#Occasionally seen: CHD#Suggested tests: hip#Life span: 11-13 years