Disclaimer: I never owned Pekin Ducks myself, but i have heart a lot of heartbreaking stories of Pekin Duck Pets that had to be put down because their leg and/or hip problems became too much for them to bare. Especially the Jumbo Pekin duck has been bred to a pure "meat bird" and is an utterly bad choice for a pet duck.
The White Layer duck has not been bred for meat but, as the name suggests for egg laying, so hopefully they are not as susceptible to leg and hip problems as the Pekins. Nevertheless they are on the "meaty" side and waddle heavy like Pekin Ducks do. White layers have a fleshy colored bill that can be used to distinguish them from younger Pekins with their bright orange bills.
My four girls, Alba, Bazilla, Blanca and Earthquack live together with Indian Runners, Buff Orpington, Fake Magpies and a couple of Mutts. All the other ducks in my flock are very active breeds and the White Layers do a really good job to keep up with the flock, which makes them look like big, fluffy, white slippers, bouncing from one to the other leg on some occasions. And all that keeping up with the others has made my White Layers grow very muscular with powerful legs.
All four girls have a very friendly personality, they all take treats straight out of my hands (they would also take my hands if i let them!) and during treat-sessions they tolerate to be touched. All four have very distinct personalities, Alba is the quietest of the four, whereas Blanca is noisy, cheeky and a food addict, she once slept with her head in the feeder. Earthquack loves to jump into the duck pool, making ducknami waves. Bazilla and Blanca would make many cats blush when it comes to mouse catching and mouse devouring, its all a matter of seconds and a mouse is gone.
Summarizing: White Layers are very similar to Pekins, but without the impending danger of developing serious leg/hip issues.
However there are some people here who have not experienced any problems with their Pekin ducks, naming just
@SuperDuck with Chuck & Buck, the Sponge Bob fan club.