Are the Maremma Sheepdog and Can de Palleiro both shepherd dogs?
Maremma Sheepdog The Maremma Sheepdog, in Italian Cane da pastore Maremmano-Abruzzese, is a breed of livestock guardian dog indigenous to central Italy, particularly to Abruzzo and the Maremma region of Tuscany and Lazio. It has been used for centuries by Italian shepherds to guard sheep from wolves. The literal English translation of the name is "The dog of the shepherds of the Maremma and Abruzzese region". The English name of the breed derives from that of the Maremma marshlands, where until recently shepherds, dogs and hundreds of thousands of sheep over-wintered, and where the breed is today abundant although sheep-farming has decreased substantially. The breed is widely employed in Abruzzo, where sheep herding remains vital to the rural economy and the wolf remains an active and protected predator. Similar breeds include the Pyrenean Mountain Dog, the Kuvasz of Hungary, the Tatra of Poland, the Cuvac of Slovakia and the Šarplaninac (although not white), with all of which it may share a common ancestor; and the Akbash Dog of Turkey.
Pusterese The Pusterese is a breed of domestic sheep from the autonomous province of Bolzano in northern Italy. It may also be called the Pustera gigante, Nobile di Badia or Gadertaler. It is raised mainly in the Val Pusteria (Pustertal), from which it takes its name, and in the Val Gardena; it has been reported also from the province of Belluno. The origins of the breed are unclear; it probably originates from the Tirol, but has also been influenced by the Lamon. It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.