Plott Hound
Easygoing, friendly, stubborn and scent obsessed. From United States.
Houndmedium breedUnited StatesStandards checked
Standards checked: this profile's facts are checked against the breed standards of the AKC, The Kennel Club and the FCI, as described on our methodology page.
Gallery
Real photos from licensed sources only, each credited to its creator.
Photos show different individual dogs from licensed libraries, not one dog growing up. Stage labels are approximate, the way a careful editor would judge them.
About the Plott Hound
From United States, the Plott Hound is a medium sized scent hound whose traditional work was to follow scent trails for hours, on game from rabbits to boar, baying so hunters can follow. Expect a companionable, musical dog who treats every walk as a detective story. Food motivation is total, which helps training and hurts waistlines.
History
Scent hound packs were the engine of mounted and foot hunting across Europe for a thousand years, and most of today's breeds descend from those great kennels. The AKC recognizes the breed today, and its standard is the reference most US breeders work to. It is also known as the Plott Plotthund.
Personality
Easygoing, friendly, stubborn and scent obsessed is the record's Plott, North Carolina's state dog: the brindle coonhound developed by the Plott family in the Smoky Mountains from German hunting hounds, bred to trail and hold bear and wild boar. Plotts are brave, loyal and tenacious outdoors, and sweet, devoted and companionable at home, with a big musical voice and a hound's pack heart. Puppies are all ears and determination; adults are athletic, funny companions that work a trail with unmatched grit and then claim the best seat in the house. Owners describe the toughest coonhound and one of the most devoted family dogs in the mountains.
Temperament and traits
Energy (4/5)
Trainability (3/5)
Grooming needs (3/5)
Shedding (3/5)
Barking (4/5)
Good with children: Good with children
With other dogs: Good with dogs
With strangers: Friendly with strangers
Apartment life: With enough exercise
Coat and care
Coat: Short, smooth, glossy coat, fine yet dense enough to shrug off brush and weather. It sheds moderately and needs only a weekly brush.
Colors: The standard accepts a range of colors and patterns, and individual markings vary a lot.
Measure meals rather than free feeding; this breed does best on a routine of consistent meals, training in short sessions and daily exercise matched to its type. Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine. Long ears drag through everything and need weekly cleaning. Weight creeps up silently in this food loving type, so weigh monthly.
Exercise and grooming
Exercise
Sixty to ninety minutes a day of serious, scent rich exercise: the Plott is the toughest of the coonhounds, bred in the Smoky Mountains to hunt bear and boar, game that fights back, and it needs long outings, free running in secure areas and jobs for the nose. Tracking and mantrailing are the breed's natural sports. Scent hounds are completely deaf to recall once the nose engages: long lines, secure gardens and patience are the owner's toolkit. Puppies need protected joints and gradual building. Weight creeps up silently in this food loving type, per the care notes, so measured meals and monthly weighing join the programme.
Grooming
Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine, per the care notes, working through the smooth brindle coat. Long ears drag through everything and need weekly cleaning, exactly as the care notes say. Weight creeps up silently in this food loving type, so weigh monthly. Nails need trims on a dog that runs rough country, and teeth benefit from brushing. The brindle coat gleams on a fit dog and needs almost nothing. Puppies need kind ear handling habits from the start, because ear care is a weekly appointment for life in every coonhound household.
Training and daily life
Training
Train the Plott with food, patience and respect for the nose. They are intelligent dogs that learn household skills well in short, reward rich sessions, and food motivation is total, which helps training and hurts waistlines, in the overview's words. Recall exists in two states, reliable when the nose is idle and fictional when it is working, so the training goal is management: secure areas, long lines and a strong emergency response. The stubborn streak melts fastest with humour and excellent pay. Mantrailing turns the obsession into a trained sport where Plotts excel. Kindness and clarity produce a polished, devoted companion.
Living with a Plott Hound
The Plott Hound suits active rural households with space, secure fencing and neighbours who accept hound music. Easygoing, friendly and scent obsessed in the record's formula, good with children, good with other dogs and friendly with strangers, it rates flats as possible in the record only with the full programme delivered. Expect a companionable, musical dog who treats every walk as a detective story, per the overview, with a bear dog's courage under the charm. Plott owners are a devoted mountain fraternity: this is the state dog of North Carolina and the toughest hound in this index, with a heart as big as its voice.
What a Plott Hound costs
Food cost
About $33 per month for a typical 50 lb adult eating roughly 3.1 cups a day of a standard quality food ($1.60 per lb). Full breakdown in our food expense calculator.
Activity and exercise
Plan 60 to 90 minutes a day of walks, play and training. Under exercised dogs of most breeds invent their own projects, and they rarely pick good ones.
Insurance cost
Typical US range $36 to $64 per month for accident and illness cover. Estimate only, based on market ranges for this breed's risk profile; see the insurance estimator and the insurance guide.
On the monthly figures above, a typical adult year runs to about $393 for food and $432 to $768 for insurance, before routine vet care, grooming and gear. Year one costs more: vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery, a crate, bedding and training all land at once.
Growth: puppy to senior
How weight typically builds with age for a medium breed, and when full size arrives.
| Stage | Age | Typical weight |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy | 8 weeks | about 6 to 8 lb |
| Puppy | 4 months | about 13 to 19 lb |
| Young | 6 months | about 21 to 31 lb |
| Young | 9 months | about 30 to 44 lb |
| Adult | 12 months | about 35 to 53 lb |
| Adult | 18 months | about 40 to 60 lb |
| Adult | Full grown | 40 to 60 lb (standard range) |
| Senior | From about 8 years | Healthy weight stays in the adult range; watch for slow gain or loss |
Growth pattern follows the size class growth curves published by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, applied to the adult weight range in the breed standard. Individual puppies vary; steady growth matters more than hitting any single number, and your vet's growth checks come first.
Life stages
Puppies need socialisation, ear care habituation, gradual exercise building and secure fencing audited before the nose fully engages. Adolescents discover trailing fully, and scent sports plus long lines carry the household through. Adults enjoy a long, sturdy prime: keep weight measured monthly, ears clean and the walks long and interesting. Twelve to fourteen years puts senior status around ten: twice yearly checks, joint friendly exercise and continued sniffy rambles. Old Plotts stay loyal, musical and devoted, the brindle fading over a lifetime of mountain stories.
Health
Hip screening and eye checks are the standards for scent hounds, and the long ears need watching for infection. Keeping this food loving type lean is itself a health measure.
Conditions to know about
- Hip dysplasia: Hip screening is a standard for scent hounds, per the record. Ask for scores in writing, and keep this powerful hound lean, because extra weight loads every joint.
- Eye conditions: Eye checks are the other standard named in the record. Ask for current results for both parents.
- Ear infections: The long ears need watching for infection, in the record's words: weekly cleaning is the prevention, and head shaking or ear odour books the vet visit.
- Weight management: Keeping this food loving type lean is itself a health measure, per the record. Measured meals, monthly weighing and honest exercise are the Plott's main health programme.
Facts follow the Plott Hound breed standard (AKC, The Kennel Club and FCI standards agree on the essentials for this breed). Health notes summarize the conditions breed clubs and veterinary bodies most often flag for this breed. They are general information for choosing and caring, not a diagnosis or a substitute for your vet.
Gear for Plott Hound owners
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Plott Hound questions
How long do Plott Hounds live?
A typical lifespan is 12 to 14 years. Weight control, dental care and screening for the breed's known conditions give a dog the best chance of reaching the top of that range.
How much does it cost to keep a Plott Hound?
Food for a typical adult runs about $33 a month at a standard quality tier, and accident and illness insurance usually falls between $36 and $64 a month in the US. Try the full cost calculator for a complete year one and yearly picture.
Are Plott Hounds good with children?
Good with children. As with every breed, supervise dogs and children together and teach children to respect the dog's space.
How much exercise does a Plott Hound need?
Plan on 60 to 90 minutes a day, split between walks, play and training games. Puppies and seniors need gentler, shorter sessions.
Why is the Plott Hound North Carolina's state dog?
The breed was developed by the Plott family in the Smoky Mountains from German hanoverian hounds brought in the eighteenth century, and North Carolina honoured its most famous hunting dog as the state dog.
Plott or Walker, what is the difference?
The Plott is the bear dog: tougher, more tenacious and more reserved, bred for dangerous game. The Walker is the faster raccoon specialist. Both are musical, devoted coonhounds.
Are Plotts good house dogs?
Yes, once exercised: easygoing and friendly at home in the record's words, devoted and affectionate. The challenges are exercise, voice and nose outdoors, not temperament indoors.