Plott Hound Dog Names

Despite being the official state dog of North Carolina, the Plott Hound is not a well-known breed. On August 12, 1989, The Plott Hound was legislatively designated the official state dog. It is one of four breeds native to the U.S. and the only breed to be bred in North Carolina.

Johannes Plott was a gamekeeper who moved to Cabarrus County in 1750. He brought five large dogs with him to protect his stock and his family from wild bears and boars. He brought the dogs that created the breed, and not much else. His son Henry is the one who bred the Plott Hounds into a distinctive breed. They had to be big enough to stop large animals that could kill, but they had to be smart enough not to kill the animals they were supposed to protect.

Henry’s grandson, Montraville, trained them to hunt and after he added European Cur to the mix, people would travel miles to get his Plott Hounds. Montraville’s sons, as is so often the case, disagreed on how to train and breed Plott Hounds. Jon Plott wanted to improve upon their appearance, where Von spread their use as hunters and trackers by leading hunting tours. By the 1930’s Plott dogs were owned and carefully bred by those outside the family. Their tradition as protectors and big game hunting dogs remains to this day.

These days you can find Plott dogs participating in tracking and treeing competitions at American Plott Association Breed Days. Not having been recognized by the American Kennel Club until 2006 they have remained a mysterious breed. In 2008 the first appearance at the Westminster Dog show. Of the four dogs competing, it was Black Monday who won Best in Breed. The dog did not win out to the Hound group to go on to Best in Show, but it did fully introduce the breed to the world. The fact is, Plotts would rather be out huntin’. Put that on a leash and walk it.