After a recent controversial video led to online backlash, YouTuber Brooke Houts is responding to claims that she abused her dog, a Doberman named Sphinx. In a statement shared to Twitter on Tuesday, August 6, the star attempts to explain her actions while denying that what she did rose to the standard of animal abuse. While clarifying that she was going through a “less than exceptional” week during the filming of the video, she apologizes for yelling at her pet, but insists that she never spat on him. Instead, she claims that she was simply trying to teach her dog how to behave. You can watch the clip here, but be warned the content may disturb some viewers.

“I want to address the uncut footage,” Brooke, 20, wrote in a screenshot shared to Twitter after behind-the-scenes footage from her August 4 video, “Plastic wrap prank on my Doberman,” leaked. “I’m clearly actually frustrated [in the video]. That being said, this does NOT justify me yelling at my dog in the way that I did, and I’m fully aware of that. Should I have gotten as angry as I did in the video? No. Should I have raised my voice and yelled at him? No. However, when my 75 lb. Doberman is jumping up in my face with his mouth open, I do, as a dog parent, have to show him that this behavior is unacceptable.”

“I should not have acted that way towards him,” she continues. “[But] I want to clarify that I am NOT a dog abuser or animal abuser in any way, shape or form. Anyone who has witnessed or heard true animal abuse will be able to clearly see that. My dog, in no way, shape or form was hurt by any action that I displayed in this video. … I also did NOT spit on my dog, but I understand how it could look like I did. Did I get in his face and take unnecessary actions towards him? Yes, I did, and that was not the way I should’ve handled the situation.”

The YouTuber went on to clarify that Sphinx will be undergoing training to work on his behavioral issues — and that she’s working on her own behavioral issues as well. “I know I’ll be in many future situations where he’s being physical, but I will not respond this way again,” she promised fans. She also explained that she was only responding to the backlash in order to “give those of you who are rightfully angry … the explanation that you deserve,” not to defend herself. “I am getting my dog into training, and I’m looking at ways to improve how I personally train him at home. … I know that I am a great dog mom (but not perfect). … I’m just explaining what my day-to-day life is really like, whether you believe me or not.”

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Not everyone is buying it, though. Despite the explanation, Brooke continues to be called out by fellow YouTubers like Logan Paul. “I try my best to avoid slamming people on twitter because I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end (and rightfully so), but this video of that girl hitting [and] spitting on her dog is remarkably grotesque, and irks me for many reasons,” he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, August 7. “Despite the hitting, the spitting is a totally unwarranted, inappropriate and vile display of energy that makes this woman completely unfit to own that dog.”

Andrea Russett also chimed in, writing, “The way [you] reacted to [your] dog simply being a dog was unacceptable [and] hard to watch. I hope you learn and grow from this, because no animal should ever be in a home where it’s being treated that way. I can’t even put into words how I felt watching this. That dog needs to be taken away and put into a LOVING home!!!!!” MTV star Angela Babicz shared a similar sentiment. “My dog died [two] weeks ago, and I’d do anything to have him jumping all over me like yours did in that video,” she said. “So the only thing I’m ‘understanding’ is that he needs to be removed from your home. Anyone that supports you is as vile and disgusting as you are.”

Jacob Roloff‘s fiancée, Isabel Rock, is also ready to throw a #BrookeHoutsIsOverParty. “She deadass spit in her dog’s face; cancel her forever,” she tweeted in all caps. Speaking to the YouTuber directly, she continued, “You are stupid as hell and just denied spitting on your dog when you clearly did? Weirdo, you shouldn’t have a dog. Goodbye.”

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