What kind of dog does Elle name Bruiser in the pilot episode?

Elle names a Chihuahua Bruiser in the pilot episode.

The Prime Video series Elle is a prequel to Legally Blonde, following Elle Woods as a 16-year-old in 1995. In the pilot, her carefully planned junior year is disrupted when her family unexpectedly moves from Bel-Air to Seattle. The episode begins the backstory of the small dog who becomes one of Elle’s most recognizable companions.

Bruiser’s breed is a Chihuahua, not a Yorkshire Terrier, Maltese, or Pomeranian. The dog’s tiny size and fashionable presentation can make the alternatives seem plausible, but the Chihuahua identity is part of the character’s established continuity from the Legally Blonde films.

The series stars Lexi Minetree as teenage Elle Woods. Reese Witherspoon, who played Elle in the original films, is connected to the project as a producer. The pilot also establishes the show’s 1990s setting, Seattle relocation, and the friendships, romance, and fashion conflicts that shape Elle before her later Harvard Law School story.