The Plott Hound is generally athletic, muscular, and agile in appearance, with a medium build. Unlike some other hounds, the Plott Hound's skin is not baggy. The Plott Hound is a strongly built yet moderate hound, with a distinct brindle-colored coat. Its appearance suggests the capacity for speed, stamina and endurance. May have an identification mark on it that is used to identify the dog when hunting. Such a mark is not penalized in conformation shows.
Coat and color
The Plott Hound's fur should be fine to medium in texture, short or medium in length, and have a smooth and glossy appearance. According to the National Plott Hound Association, the dog's fur should be brindled. Brindled is defined as "Finely streaked or striped effect or pattern of black or tan fur with fur of a lighter or darker background color. Shades of colors accepted: yellow brindle, red brindle, tan brindle, brown brindle, black brindle, grey brindle, and maltese." Acceptable colors are any of the above-mentioned brindles. Black with brindle trim is the alternative. The Association dictates that while some white on the chest and/or feet is permissible, white found anywhere else is a fault.
Size
A Plott Hound should measure approximately 20 to 25 in at the withers for males, 20 to 23 in for females. Males should weigh 50 to 60 lb. Females should weigh 40 to 55 lb.
History
Of the seven breeds of United Kennel Club registered coonhounds, the Plott Hound is the only that does not trace its ancestry to the foxhound. The Plott Balsams, a mountain range in North Carolina, are named for the Plott family, whose ancestor, George Plott, immigrated to North Carolina in the late 18th century from Germany. The Plott Hound breed of hunting dog is also named for the Plotts. The ancestors of today's Plott Hounds were used for boar hunting in Germany. Originally from Germany, in 1750 Johannes "George" Plott emigrated to the English colony of North Carolina. He brought a few wild boarhounds with him. These dogs had been bred for generations for their stamina and gameness. George and his wife Margaret with their family settled in the mountains of western North Carolina. Though there is no evidence that Plott ever went to western North Carolina, his son Henry settled there around 1801 to 1810 and was responsible for the Plott Hound's later development. Plott supposedly kept his strain entirely pure, making no outcrosses. In 1780, the Plott Hound pack passed into the hands of Henry Plott. Shortly after, a hunter living in Rabun Gap, Georgia, who had been breeding his own outstanding strain of "leopard spotted dogs" heard of the fame of the Plott Hounds and went to North Carolina to see for himself. He was so impressed that he borrowed one of Montraville Plott's top stud dogs for a year to breed to his own bitches. This single cross is the only known instance of new blood being introduced into the Plott Hound since it first went to the US. Eventually Montraville decided not to continue this breeding practice and gave all of the leopard dogs away, returning to his original breeding practices. Other crosses possibly took place around 1900. G.P. Ferguson, a neighbor of the Plott family in North Carolina in those days, was a major influence on the Plott Hound breed. He made a careful study of the Blevins hounds and the Cable hounds of that era. The extent to which he used these bloodlines in his Plott Hound breeding program is not known.
