This breed and its origin are associated with the Šar Mountains region in North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania, which is how it got its name. For that reason some sources have described it as a North Macedonia and Kosovo breed. However, the Šar Mountains are only a single mountain range in the Balkans, while the dogs classified as Šarplaninac can be found in many other regions in North Macedonia, such as the mountains of Korab, Stogovo, Bistra, Jablanica, Pelister and elsewhere, lending credence to the claims that even the popular and currently official name is rather misleading and not completely respectful. Many believe that this had been the famous palace dog of Alexander the Great, while the Skilos tou Alexandrou was one of his war dogs, but chances are that it was a specific mild-mannered type of the Šarplaninac known as Zlatan that served as the great conqueror's pet, seeing how all but one variety of the breed have traditionally been very dominant and ferocious workers. After the collapse of Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Serbia were recognised by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale as the countries of origin.