In regards to their indigenous country, is the Tahltan Bear Dog's or Alopekis' closer to Italy?
Alopekis Alopekis is an ancient Greek breed of dog. The name Alopekis means “small fox” or “fox-like” in the Greek language. The breed is mentioned by several ancient Greek & classical writers (Aristotle, Xenophon, Aristophanes et al) and is depicted in many archaeological finds such as pottery, carvings, statuettes, sculpture, tomb monuments etc. (see Images).
Italian Shepherd The Italian Shepherd, or Pastore Italiano, is a breed of dog. The existence of this breed can be traced back to 1975, when Piero Accettella, of the Little Ranch Kennels, in Cepagatti, in the province of Pescara, in Italy, noticed that, in the surrounding Italian regions of Abruzzo, Umbria, Tuscany, Marche and Northern Lazio, there existed mid-sized dogs with wolf-like features used as livestock herders and known locally as Cane Toccatore. Accettella acquired some of these dogs and crossbred them with Abruzzese Mastiffs, a breed of molosser, to increase their size. The result of this cross was a dog of great intelligence, wary of strangers and a tenacious guardian of property and livestock. The dogs have been found to be ideally suited to the role of guard dog and are easily trained for this task.