Police in the US are investigating a YouTuber for possible animal abuse, after she was shown hitting her dog in a video.

Brooke Houts uploaded a video entitled "plastic wrap prank on my doberman".

Unedited footage in which she appeared to hit and spit on her dog also found its way online.

There has been a considerable backlash from Houts's almost 340,000 subscribers since the video emerged, and Los Angeles police are now investigating the incident.

Houts issued an apology for her behaviour, but denied spitting on the dog and insisted that she was "not an animal abuser".

Karl Deeter and Aoife Barry discussed this story and more in The Week Trending.

Listen to the interview in full by pressing the play button on this page.