Bergamasco

The first centers for domestication of sheep and goats appears to be the Zagros Mountains which straddle the Iraq-Iran border. In this region originated a type of dogs with long, bristly coats, probably descended from a wolf with a very thick coat. The dogs emigrated with shepherding population groups that moved from east to west in search of new pastures, settling in mountainous zones along a practically uninterrupted line from the upper planes of Asia over all the mountains of Anatolia. Ultimately settled in the Italian Alps and remained there; their dogs became what is now known as the Bergamasco.