I am a native North Carolinian and am glad to see the Plott is finally getting the credit it deserves. I am, however, floored by the comment that they "aren't much good as indoor pets." Has Mr. Woodward ever owned a Plott; has he talked to someone who keeps one as a companion animal and not as a hunting dog (there's a real difference there)?

My Plott hound, Molly, is a rescue dog who was formerly used for hunting and breeding (she is tatooed). She has been with me for five years and is now around nine. I live in a small townhouse with a cat. I could not ask for a better dog. She is quiet and well-behaved in the house. She has never exhibited any aggression to humans or other animals; in fact, not only are she and my cat very fond of one another, but she is also a favorite of the neigbor's cat. She plays well with my parents' young, rambunctious terrier mix and is gentle with a friend's nine pound Pomeranian. Although she is mellow and laidback in the house, she loves going for walks and trail runs and is a great companion. She barks when she needs to and offers me the protection that any big, gentle dog does. She does not chew and basically housebroke herself. She has a charming and funny personality. I love her so much that when she dies, I'm getting another rescue coonhound--hopefully a Plott. Hounds do not fair as well on the adoption market as lab and retriever mixes, since many people erroneously think that they make poor pets. Nothing could be further from the truth. As Mr. Woodward points out, this is a homespun breed: its lack of general popularity means it has not been overbred and does not suffer the health and behavior problems that plague so many more ubiquitous breeds.

I think dog fighting is barbaric and that often hunting dogs are not treated as well as they should be (Molly had been abused and was emaciated when I got her). I know that there are many hunters who are responsible dog owners, but there are significant numbers of people who view their hunting dogs in the same callous way Mike Vick viewed his fighting dogs. When hunting dogs get abandoned, particularly in rural areas, there is often no one to take them in. It upsets me that Mr. Woodward's article might prevent someone from adopting a Plott. I am eager for these loving and intelligent dogs to find good homes. Read the descriptions of the Plotts up for adoption on Petfinder--many of them echo my feelings about these dogs.

I know nothing of Plotts and have never met one.

Therefore, I have no legitimate basis upon which to be judgemental.

I do want to express an opinion about aminals(pets) in general.

I believe that a pet's temperament has much to do with that of their human.

I've seen aminals change over time as they adapted themselves to their humans.

do you agree?

BTW-I can't spell animal.lol

Seriously, just what we need, more people overlooking the coonhound breeds when thinking of adopting.

I have a rescued black and tan coonhound and I now can't imagine my life without a coonhound in it. I live in a northern, urban center, right in the city. I don't hunt, in fact I'm a vegetarian. I'm about as far from a stereotypical hound owner as you can possibly get, but coonhounds are the perfect dogs for me. They tend to be calm when inside (nothing to hunt, they're off duty), and willing to take however long of a hike you are up to when you take them out. They're friendly and non-aggressive, get along well with other dogs, and especially do well with children. They don't top most people's lists of trainability, but I think that is primarily because they don't respond well to traditional compulsion-based forms of training that rely on fear and pain to train (as they do tend to be fearless and also quite selfish, if you train them with fear and pain they'll quickly find someone more enjoyable to be around). I do agility with my coonhound and he has his CGC (Canine Good Citizen) title from the AKC.

And yet these dogs languish by the thousands in animal shelters because of stereotypes of them as stupid and lazy and not good for anything but hunting.

So let me chime in here to yell from the rooftops: ADOPT A COONHOUND! DON'T KNOCK IT TILL YOU'VE TRIED IT!

You're so right--when I first adopted Molly I can't tell you how many self-professed dog experts told me what a terrible pet she would make. I have never met another hound owner who has anything but praise for the group. They are, as you say, somewhat selfish (Molly at times exhibits diva-ish tendencies, which are hilarious), and the fearlessness can manifest itself in stubborness, but they are also highly intelligent and adaptable. For example, keeping Miss Molly off the couch by punitive means did not work at all. Buying her an extremely comfortable bed of her own did the trick nicely. Those who like slavish obedience and groveling servility in their dogs probably won't want a Plott hound. But if you want a smart and dignified companion who has interests apart from slobbering on you, you'll do well with a Plott or another breed of coonhound.

We adopted our Plott, Brindle, from the humane society here in town 3 years ago and could not imagine life without her. She is an exquisite animal in both form & personality - of which comes through in droves. While a Plott's physical pain threshold may make them an excellent hunter, they are one of the most emotionally sensitive dogs out there. Complete drama-queens when they've been scolded - she's pouts far worse than the sixteen year old that also inhabits the house. Our 45 pound beast believes herself a lap dog who loves to snuggle under the covers (I haven't had the couch to myself in years). They are friendly, sweet natured animals that are especially good (very tolerent) with small children, other dogs, and cats. They love to play,are daffy, highly intelligent(she knows her toys by name) animals that are well-suited for family life. Their short, glossy coats are easy to care for and Plott's tend to like the water. This makes them easy to bathe or shower. Yes, of course - their belle (bark) is loud and their ears do need regular care like any other floppy earred dog but for a companion, Plott's are simply amazing. Hounds Rule!

Your right, Plott hounds rule! People who say otherwise have never owned a Plott.

Plotts do make great pets. I work with hounds daily and have met some really sweet plotthounds. A good dog comes from a good and decent owner. He lives inside with his family and is NOT chained to a dog box or a tree. It's foolish to think a plotthound couldn't be a show dog, a dog is what you make it, and anything good, comes with effort and real work, and kindness. Any good showman is there for the dog, they are treated well and are 'pets'. Perhaps before one does an article on dogs he should not only look at what is written, but perhaps stop by a local humane society and ask people who work with the dogs every day, as well as dog show people, and perhaps the old bore in the tuxedo. For the record hounds make excellent family pets and house dogs, I've got both sight and scent hounds in my home and they are super smart and easy to live with! I would sure like to know if the author asked the hunters what became of their plotthounds if they didn't hunt? I bet if you ask someone at the humane society they could answer that question for you...

I couldn't agree more. I grew up with black and tan coonhounds. When I started having dogs on my own, my first hound was a Plott (Brindle) from my rescue society. My second was a black and tan coonhound (Ricky), third was a bluetick (Molly) followed by another black and tan (Sara) followed by another bluetick (Dixie). they've all been wonderful dogs. Brindle and Molly were heart dogs but the rest weren't far behind.

as much as I love these dogs or maybe because I love these dogs, I would not suggest just anyone adopt one. They are loud. They are the most noisy, boisterous, exuberant dogs you'll ever know. They are unbelievably loyal especially the blueticks. Molly and Dixie would've taken a bullet for me. The female coonhounds are also unbelievably smart. you can see them work out problems with their noses not surprisingly, they fail most doggy intelligence tests because, the problem set isn't interesting.

Coon hounds, in general, are really good with kids once the kids learn manners. The softer hounds such as Redbone, black and tan, English seem to be more mellow about the antics of children. One of our blueticks was great with children, the other one, not so good. She's afraid of them, apparently from abuse situation, so when she gets backed into a corner, she doesn't react well. Our job as owners is to make sure she doesn't backed into a corner.

the reason why I would not suggest anyone just adopt one is because of the noise. When you get a wonderful voice on a coon hound, it is like music singing out over the trees or the grass for miles around. If you end up with one with a not so nice voice, it is like an ice pick to your ears. what ever voice your dog has, your neighbors will enjoy it much less than you do. these dogs are also greeters. They will greet at full volume whoever comes to the door, whoever walks by the house, trash pickup, recycling pickup, the mailman, the gas meter reader,... you get the idea. They are usually saying "welcome". They just say it really really loud.

Also, since these are hunting dogs, bred for generations to work on their own from scent in the field, you should never ever let them off lead. They will go where their nose leads them and that could be 15 or 20 miles away if they don't get hit by a car because they aren't watching where they are going, they are smelling where they are going.

coonhounds are really wonderful. They don't act like ordinary dogs. They do weird things that a true coon hound owner just smiles at. If you can cope with that and the noise, great otherwise go get a lab or a golden.

I was heartened to hear someone standing up for Plotts as pets. A year and a half aog I adopted a puppy from a shelter in upstate South Carolina. He was big, brindle and was the only quiet puppy there. Honestly, I thought that he was a pit mix because of his color and tenacity. As he grew up it became apparent that he wasn't a pitbull at all. Untill tonight while searching on the web I never knew what he was. I used to stare at him and wonder what he could be. I was so happy when I started looking at photos of other Plotts and realized that he is identical. The only part that I was confused about was that everything I read says that they don't make very good pets, especially not in the house. Harley is a great dog to have in the house, well trained and gentle to people beyond words ( Maybe this is because I am comparing him to my pit/lab mix who is a savage and intense dog). I have had Harley around small children and all he wants to do is lay on his back and get his belly scratched. I am glad to hear that other people are enjoying them as companions and housepets as much as we love Harley.