The Pyrenean Sheepdog, the Chien de Berger des Pyrénées in French, is a small to medium-sized breed of herding dog from the Pyrenees Mountains region of France.
The Pyrenean Sheepdog is found in three coat types, the long-haired and goat-haired (together called the Chien de Berger des Pyrénées À Poil Long) as well as the smooth-faced (called the Chien de Berger des Pyrénées À Face Rase); the latter is recognised as a separate breed from the former two by the Société Centrale Canine.
[1] The breed is one of a number of similar rough-coated sheep herding-type breeds found throughout Europe including the Briard and Berger Picard from France, the Barbado da Terceira and Cao da Serra de Aires from the Azores and Portugal, the Polish Lowland Sheepdog from Poland, the Gos d'atura from Catalonia, the Pastore Fonnese from Sardinia, the Bearded Collie, Border Collie, Rough Collie and extinct Welsh Hillman from Britain, the Schafpudel from Germany, and the Schapendoes from Holland, as well as the Armant from Egypt (descended from French Briards).
[1] The breed is considered very hardy and its build gives it impressive stamina, particularly so given the altitudes it works in, it easily covers over 32 kilometres (20 mi) in a day.
[1][4] Traditionally the Pyrenean Sheepdog's ears and tail were docked although this custom is no longer common due to the procedures being restricted/ banned in numerous countries.