Kalabak and its surroundings are treeless so it is an ideal places for shepherds to raise their sheep and the Šarplaninac as the protector.
In 1957, at the request of the Yugoslav Canine Federation (JKS), the FCI changed the name to Yugoslav Shepherd Dog-Šarplaninac, after the Šar Mountains (Šar Planina in South Slavic languages) where the breed is most common.