What Breed of Dog Is Walter? Famous Dogs Explained!
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View 2 More +We all love a good meme, especially if a dog or cat is involved! Ever wondered what breed those meme dogs and cats are, though? We certainly have. But it can take a bit of sleuthing sometimes if you are unable to recognize the breed on sight. Instead of having you do the detective work, we have done it for you—at least in this instance.
One of the more famous memes featuring a dog involves a pup named Walter. You have probably seen this one at some point; it’s a white dog staring into the camera without its ears showing. (It’s both hilarious and adorable!). But what breed is Walter?
For one, Walter's real name is Nelson, and Nelson is a Bull Terrier. Here’s everything we found out.
Who Is Walter and What Breed Is He?
As we said, Walter is the dog in the meme with the white dog staring into the camera, but all you can see is its huge nose and eyes (and no ears). Before he became a meme, though, the dog was known as Nelson—or Nelson the Bull Terrier. His owner posted this hysterical picture of him to their Twitter with the caption, "when u open the front-facing camera on accident,” and it soon went viral, turning into a popular meme. From there, it spread to Reddit and eventually ended up being banned because of overuse. The owner also came onto Reddit later and explained the origin of the hilarious photo.
What Is a Bull Terrier?
You’ll know you’re looking at a Bull Terrier by the shape of its head—what the AKC terms “egghead”—and long face. The breed came about in England in the 1800s when someone crossed an English Terrier with a bulldog. Bull Terriers are short and extremely muscular and sometimes have a reputation for being aggressive (though this isn’t really the case at all, as aggression in dogs is a result of poor training). Some of this reputation also comes from the fact the breed used to be used in dogfighting circles. But with early socialization and proper training, you’ll find the Bull Terrier to be a mischievous, sweet, loyal, and oftentimes comedic companion!
And the breed is a bit (other than Walter, the meme dog, we mean). The Bull Terrier is also the face of both Target and Bud Light!
What to Know If You Want to Adopt a Bull Terrier
Think you might want to adopt a Bull Terrier? Then there are some things to know about the breed before you do.
Training 🎾
Training is vital with this breed. As we said earlier, the breed has a reputation for being aggressive, and while it isn’t, a lot of that reputation has come about from dogs that were improperly trained (or not trained at all). Plus, these pups are one of the most stubborn breeds around, so you'll have problems as your dog gets older if you don’t adequately train (and socialize) it from a young age.
Families & Other Pets
If you have little kids in the home, the Bull Terrier probably isn’t the breed for you. While the dog can get along with children just fine and shows a lot of love to its people, it will do better with older children who know how not to cross a dog’s boundaries (ear-pulling, roughhousing, etc.).
The Bull Terrier can also get along with other pets in the home, but again this depends on the dog being socialized with other animals from puppyhood. One thing to note is that the breed may have issues with smaller animals, purely because the Bull Terrier tends to forget it’s a strong dog; they may end up overpowering smaller pets by accident. And if you have rodents as pets, you might want to skip this breed as animals that tiny may trigger the dog’s prey drive.
Health
Luckily, the Bull Terrier is a fairly hardy breed. However, it is recommended that you keep an eye on their joints and look out for any defects that could cause issues later on; Bull Terriers are prone to shoulder osteochondrosis in particular. Other health issues that could crop up include:
Final Thoughts
It’s always interesting finding out what type of breed the dogs and cats we see online are, and in the case of Walter, the meme dog, the breed is a Bull Terrier! Though they have a bit of a reputation for being aggressive, the Bull Terrier is actually a comical and lovable dog; how it ends up being temperament-wise depends on how well you train it. If you think you’d like to adopt a Bull Terrier, make sure you know what you’re getting into, then look around at local shelters or rescue groups to find your new four-legged friend.
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Featured Image Credit: paula_olly, Pixabay
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Misty Layne lives out in the woods in small-town Alabama with her two Siamese - Serafina & Jasper. She also has an array of stray cats, raccoons, and opossums who like to call her front porch home. When she’s not writing about animals, you’ll find her writing poetry, stories, and film reviews (the animals are, by far, her favorite writing topic, though!). In her free time, Misty enjoys chilling with her cats, playing piano, watching indie and foreign films, photographing abandoned places, and catching up on her never-ending TBR list.
