Plott History

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 immigrated to America with three brindle and two buckskin Hanoverian Hounds. One boy died on the way but the other, sixteen year old Johannes George Plott, settled in Bute County, North Carolina. 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 occasionally boar. As Plott men built homes and raised families all over the Smoky 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 Plotts 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 when Ferguson bred them back to his pure Plotts, the breed was revitalized. Some members of the Plott family even used these dogs in their breeding program and, because of this cross, some brindle Plotts have a black saddle.

As the fame of the Plotts spread, coon hunters began to take an interest in those with treeing instinct. The Plott came to be classified as a coonhound because there are many more coonhunters in our country than there are bear and boar hunters. Even so, the Plott's traditional work is to track, 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.

The Plott may have an identification mark on the rump used to identify the dog when out hunting. Such a mark is not to be penalized when evaluating the dog.