Important notes: Please do not send any hate towards Nikki or Dan Phillippi. This video is intended to be a critique of a real-life situation many pet owners can be faced with, as well as a learning resource for those who may be going through similar with their dogs. I felt it was important for me to go into this situation as unbiased as possible, and prior to filming and editing, I did not know of any pre-existing drama of any sort concerning the creators I am critiquing, or their treatment of their animals. BEFORE you choose to euthanize any pet due to behavioural (or suspected mental) issues, please do the following: 1) Take your pet to the vet to check for any medical reason which would affect your dogs temperament. 2) Consult with multiple trainers and behaviourists. 3) If your dog is a specific breed, seek the guidance and assistance of a Breed Specific Rescue. Think critically. Be kind. xx Em

From what I looked up. Their son basically annoyed the dog. I think the husband even said the son pulled on the dogs ear so much that the dog had cauliflower ear and had scarring. Idk why parents refuse to teach their toddlers and children to be gentle with animals. I applaud you for staying so calm cause I couldn't even finish the video

Damn this hits hard...my parents adopted a dog from an abusive home where the boyfriend of the woman would beat the dog so bad that he didn't trust anyone anymore. So when my parents brought him home all he would do was hide under the bed and would attack anyone who would come close. My mom had to work with him until he was able to trust people again. When they found out I was coming along, they got worried about how he would react to a baby. The difference is that my parents showed me how to touch the dog and not hurt him by accident and he never did anything to me. That dog got so attached to me that he never left my side. He was a really good boy.

If someone chased me around when I was sleeping I would growl too...

I could never be this nice. I have zero respect or empathy for these people. Their beloved dog of almost a decade was put under a lot of stress, reacted properly and as normal dogs do, and was killed by his own family. There were so many other options that would not have resulted in a dead dog. Rest in peace, Bowser 💚

Honestly. Baby gates exist. It would have been so easy to have them in separate rooms to ease a dogs anxiety and keep the child away safely. My mom instilled in us from birth to be gentle. Any time we were in contact with and animal the first thing she would say is “gentle” and if we weren’t we were removed from the situation. This is on the parents 100%. You are so much kinder than I could have been lol

I feel like they could have done more for Bowser, but instead, chose the "easy way out" for the lack of the better way to say it. Also, you are supposed to SUPERVISED BOTH THE CHILD AND THE DOG!!! I think they were both careless when it came to training and they lacked the initiative to try to get it behavioral training and help. Unfortunately, Bowser payed the price with his life. So sad....

Phew, your calmness toward these "people" and their sheer ignorance and clownery is AMAZING. This is my BIGGEST pet peeve. People completely failing their dogs AND their children makes me so angry. I'd be cursing up a storm if I were covering this situation!

The kid getting bitten was not Bowser's fault-it was the parents responsibility to protect their dog from the child. They failed to protect both.

Since they didn't mention doing any sort of behavior training, I definitely believe they could've done more for their dog. I also feel that the humane society saying that rehoming bowser would've been impossible is kind of shitty. It definitely would've been hard, but I think they could've found a rescue that would rehabilitate him or find him the specific home he needs with no other dogs or children.

I’m bi polar too and I hated the fact he described the dogs behavior as “bi polar” and then you said something about that being a problem and I was so happy you did. It’s like when a guy is just like “and now she’s mad at me she’s so bi polar I swear” it’s like people need to realize it’s an actual mental condition and not an adjective . It makes it so hard to break health stigmas when people use words in that fashion. Love from one Em to Another ✨❤️

I see they’re the type of parents who expect animals to automatically put up with their kids crap and then blame the dog when it reacts

This was a great video Em. I have a American Bulldog who became reactive to dogs he doesn’t know because of him being attacked by an off leashed dog while he was on a leash. He started “hard staring” any dogs he would see, even his sister doggie. Crate training, CORRECT socialization, and positive reinforcement has given my boy his life back 💛

I want to know why they were not supervising their kid and the dog?? Like how does this happen? You know your dog snaps so why would you ever leave the kid and dog unattended in the same room?

Honestly, it sounds like they were too lazy to find a suitable home for him.

I understand that kids come first. But this dog could’ve easily been rehomed. There’s no timeline in which a dog can be rehomed; you see senior dogs in shelters all the time that go on to be adopted for their final years. I had to put my American Eskimo dog, Jango, to sleep in March. This hits so hard for me because i HAD to put him down because he was SICK and his quality of life was GONE. We had no other option, he didn’t have the option to live longer with me or with someone else... i guess I’m biased because my wounds are still fresh but this situation disgusts me because they did not explore all options, they just chose death for him.. Edit: I’d like to add that i understand he was an aggressive/reactive dog because of experiences when he was a puppy, but i really think Bowser could’ve found love in a home with someone who understands and knows how to live with aggressive/reactive dogs. There are a lot of people with that kind of experience who could’ve handled him and let him live the rest of his life.

By the way, it just makes my stomach churn with anger watching Nikki just sipping coffee while talking about killing her dog in her video, like its just another Sunday morning. Smh!!!

This situation was handled in probably the worst possible way by these owners. This could have be completely avoided if they would have properly trained their dog and more importantly trained their kid to respect animals

I had to put my dog to sleep in March she had heart failure and I cried for almost a month straight. I barely could even talk about her without crying. I loved her so damn much and she was so special to me. That was the worst thing I ever had to go through I don’t care what anyone says it’s not just a dog. She was our family.

in my opinion, this is 100% on the parents, they never set boundaries between the dog and the child. they neglected professional help for the dogs trauma, the incident where the dog bit the child was a completely preventable thing, they just ignored the obvious signs that the dog was giving. it was very unfair to the dog to be put in a situation like that, i hope the parents do better in the future.

What she said about the off-leash dogs in on-leash areas really gets me. My dog was also attacked by an unleashed dog as a puppy while I was walking her on the sidewalk. Please, please, please, DON'T let your dogs off leash in a neighborhood or populated area, no matter how friendly your dog usually is, you just can't account for every potential stimulus. Not only is it illegal it's extremely dangerous to your dog and others.

My parents had to rehome their dog Dickens when they adopted me. That’s what responsible people do. He wasn’t suitable for a household with a child. When I got older we had many other wonderful dogs that were right for our family. They all lived long, happy lives...including Dickens. Also, it seems to me that they were not ready for this dog 10 years ago in the first place. They let this behavior from the dogs trauma sort of fester over time and they got a breed of dog known to be extremely energetic and takes a ton of time and dedication to training. It’s all very irresponsible in my opinion and I hope people learn from this.

"Oh, he's friendly" immediately indicates to me that he's not. 9/10 times the "friendly" unleashed dog is the instigator for a fight.

Am I the only one who sees that this was 100% that woman's idea? The guy looks like a scolded child, while she seems annoyingly arrogant. I have a snappy bullterrier and annoying young daughter. They've know each other for 2 years and both test each other's boundaries. It's my job, as the parent, to 'parent' them both and keep them safe. They also play and nap together regularly. It's not all hell. Related to this video - the dog is not allowed near my daughter's food. My daughter is not allowed near the dog's food. Basics 🙄

All I hear is "we didn't care enough about our dog to protect him from our child"

My parents put down our dog for similar circumstances when I was little. For the longest time I thought it was my fault the dog died. This messed me up for the longest time. I hope Logan doesn’t go through the same thoughts if he finds this out.

I personally have a hamster and also a 5 year old brother. I never leave him alone with my hamster in case something happens and I supervise them together. Since I adopted her I have been very clear to my brother about the proper way to pet/hold her. If he’s being too rough I immediately take her away. Once he wanted to pet her but at this time she wasn’t trained and I warned against it. However he still touched her and she but him. Because of this he knows that when I tell him he shouldn’t pet her, it’s because he could scare her and get hurt. It saddens me that people don’t really teach their children about respecting their pets.

Honestly, you were way too kind and forgiving to this family that murdered their dog because they were too lazy to help it.

You can't just bring a new human into your family and expect your dog to understand. BOTH the kid and the dog have to be TAUGHT in a safe environment. I can't believe they let their child be in the dog's face especially when he's eating without supervision, it was just a matter of time before something happened. Heartbreaking. Rest in Peace Good boy

IMO these people are just incredibly ignorant on dog behavior and took the easy way out. Very sad. :(

So basically "we don't want to deal with this dog anymore so we killed it" cewl ceeeewwl cewl cewl cewl.. Not cool. Em, you're amazing for presenting this video in such an education way, incredibly professional.

The thing that makes me the most upset about this entire situation is how little the parents did to correct their son's behavior. "He pulled hard enough on the dog's ear to cause scarring" or "he stole food directly from the dog." AND WHERE WERE YOU TWO?? Tell your kid "hey maybe don't mess with the dog."

The thing that makes me the most sick of this whole situation is the “pre euthanasia” photo shoot they did. With the kid literally a few inches from the dog..like what? Just psychopathic

Wow, you're so calm and collected, Em. I'm impressed and I'm FURIOUS at these people who took NO steps to resolve a common situation, they just let it escalate. There were so many options before re-homing that they didn't even try (and I'm not even commenting on euthanizing the dog, it shouldn't be an option imo). This is infuriating, I hope these people don't have pets ever again.

I love the polite way you corrected not only the animal care but the use of words like bipolar, thank you Em, you’re the advocate we all deserve

Crate training was one of the best things I did as soon as I got my puppy. They are not bad They get used to it VERY quickly and after they get used to it they grow to love their crate most of the time. It is a safe space for them.

At the end of the day it just seems like these people were lazy and they took the easy way out by putting him down if they didn’t want to put in the work to find a trainer or a behavior specialist for Bowser they could have at least rehomed him .

your makeup today is incredible!

I feel like this is the result of not dealing with the trauma effectively after their dog was attacked as a puppy. They may not have known how to do that which is pretty common with many owners, but I feel like the dog needed more patients and a very skilled dog handler/ trainer to deal with that. Fear based aggression is tough to work through because it can only escalate from there if not addressed properly. It’s just a horrible situation all around.

R.I.P. Bowser, you really deserved better

If you know your dog is reactive though with other dogs, why would you continuously have them around other dogs and give them an opportunity to either injure another dog or be injured themselves.

Also they seem so heartless. Like drinking a coffee while talking about putting your dog down.

I'm so annoyed listening to them talk about how they allowed their child to treat the dogs I have three dogs and 2 children and no it was not easy to keep them seperate when my daughter was a grabby baby but I did it for her and the dogs to keep everyone safe. And now as a 5 year old she has respect for the dogs and knows when to give them space.

It's nice to hear from someone else who muzzles their dog at the vet just in case something goes poorly. My vet has been working curbside for a year and I've brought my dog in a muzzle for every appointment because I can't go in with him and make sure he's not too stressed out. Every time I do, though, I get asked if he has a bite history (he doesn't) and the vet techs seem more nervous about taking him from me with the muzzle on than they do with an unmuzzled dog.

Em, you are way too kind. I wish I had the patience and soft spoken nature like yours when hearing stories like this. I use to follow Nikki years ago and was heart broken about Bowser.

I am still crying over this cruelty. Thank you for addressing it

Murder. Laziness. Terrible parenting. Terrible people. Uneducated. Not responsible. Heartless. How you can be so nice to these people is beyond me. These are the worst kind of people.. the ones who don’t try hard enough.

Not a single tear was shed during their video till Nikki brought out the pictures. 🙄

Okay, wow, I thought they were going to say they had to give the dog up. But they put him to sleep?? Edit: I'm a little farther in and I don't know why they did the things they did. We all make mistakes I know, but...those are some persistent mistakes. Also I would be sobbing if I'd had to put my dog to sleep. And they had him 10 years?? I'm a little flabbergasted.

Gosh Em, first of all, you are absolutely stunning. Always. Secondly your grace and empathy are evident in ALL of your videos. Thanks for making my day with this bonus video - even if it is sensitive to some. I have 6 dogs, so I’m always learning new things and I take your advice regularly when it comes to pet care. Keep doing you boo boo, you are doing amazing things!

Oh my god you called out their use of spirit animal. As an indigenous person I’m like crying That you’re aware (I’m sensitive rn from putting down my pet rat on Tuesday we suspected he had cancer). Thank you for being considerate. So spirit animal is a bastardized version of our beliefs and terms (people are gonna jump on me for this who are non native but I don’t care) such as spirit guide in the dialects of the tribes, or the actual version is Spirit Name and clan. My spirit name is Standing Otter and my clan is the Martin Bird. And these are sacred spiritual things that aren’t like haha I’m like that animal. It’s such a misunderstanding but it was coined by the colonizers by their misunderstanding of our spiritual cultural beliefs. Thank you for being considerate Em 💖 A lot of natives aren’t being educated by their elders or don’t know this but imo it’s pretty offensive. There’s so many other cool things you could say like familiar, patronus, daemon, etc People are gonna argue with me but if you cause any issues I will just block you. I don’t have the energy to argue with people while I’m mourning thanks.

I hadn't heard of these people before but this makes me so sad because it feels like much of this could have been prevented by keeping the child away. PLEASE use pet gates and baby gates, people.

When you make that decision, it's either by law or because ALL other options are impossible. Pretty sad to think a KZfaq with millions of "fans" couldn't find another more appropriate home for even an "aggressive" animal. They're extremely selfish to think they're world, of all people, is so small. Insane. That animal could have been rehabbed and trained by a professional quite quickly.

I’ve worked for a dog trainer for 4 years now. The second they had an issue with aggression they should have seen a trainer. Early aggression is easily fixable. Knowing that they have children and not dealing with the problem is a huge issue. They just ignored the problem and the dog paid for it.

Watching this, with my dog Bowser next to me is so upsetting! 😭 I have three kids that have grown up with cats and dogs around always... And part of my parenting duty (In my opinion) was to teach them to respect and understand the limits of the pets! Pets are never toys, and euthanasia isn't the solution unless the pet is too sick!!!! :(

Someone in my area keeps contacting me about her 6 month old husky to get free advice on how to take care of it. After a week they wanted to get rid of it, and then the next day decided to keep it. They keep dragging their feet on training and taking him to the vet. She contacted me in a panic because the dog bit her kid after shoving an iPad in its face. I told them several times to contact a husky rescue or a trainer prior to the incident, but here we are. I feel so bad for the dog. I keep hearing stories like this and it breaks my heart.

Poor dog didn’t even get a chance to improve. There definitely were other options but I know sometimes in the moment it’s hard to decide what to do. (Mind you idk anything about these people)My theory is that the place they wanna move to wasn’t gonna work out with having him.

What a level headed response, critique, and lengthy break down of what happened. I was pissed at first and I'm glad you did this video. What happened sucks but it's a fantastic chance to educate others.

So I know it is not the appropriate place to feed a dog but I can shed some light on why people do it. The kitchen floor is generally the easiest floor in the house to clean, especially if you have carpeting in the rest of the house.

The fact that they killed the dog and didn’t give it to someone who wants that dog and take care of him and love him but no they killed it

My dog walker introduced her grandson to my dog. He is autistic and struggled to form relationships with people. He met my dog and said 'maybe she has autism like me, she's scared of loud noises and doesn't like strange people. She's just like me' I know that's not the case its just bad experiences and training but it made me happy to know they had made a little bond and she made the boy happy and not feel so alone

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO! i saw smaller channels pick up on it and was worried the matter wouldn’t reach enough of an audience

I am very happy to see that you did a video on this situation. You always wonderful in making sure to educate and not completely slander people based on emotions alone. Thank you for putting your take out there, I hope a lot of people watch this video and gain something from it. Thank you for always showing up and killing it Em!!!

I greatly appreciate the educational aspect of this video. These things are happening all the time bc, ugh it so shocking, people really DON’T KNOW dog behavior. As a dog owner and toddler parent, I have to know BOTH behaviors.

This was a great and comprehensive video! Thank you for addressing the problematic ways that "spirit animal" is used, as well as calling their dog "bipolar." That just reeks of ableism and insensitivity. I am also intrigued to know if Bowser was ever socialized with his litter. The couple says often that they had him for his entire life and obviously got him when he was a very young puppy, so I'm wondering if part of his perceived behavioural issues had anything to do with him not having the proper amount of time to be socialized with his litter and mother. But yeah other than that, this whole situation screams negligence. If this couple could afford to have a home euthanasia, I'm sure they could've afforded to properly look into dog training, behaviourists, and breed specific care and information.

Em, I am so proud of how you handled this situation. You brought grace where it was so desperately needed.

So glad you covered this!

They don't deserve your kindness in my opinion. But good on you for being extremely mature

This just......*DEEP BREATH*.....so instead of rehoming the dog, they took the lazy and murderous way out. I.....wow Em, good for you for keep this educational and classy. I need to go punch a wall now....

I love you Em!!! You make me think further into if I should get a specific pet! And the responsibilities it comes with it. Love you so much Em!!!

There is such good advice in this video. Thank you for your kindness, and taking a bad situation and making something positive (a learning experience) out of it

I think what really gets me is they knew it was an unfair environment for Bowser and seemingly did nothing to fix that and instead decided to euthanize the dog.

My 4 year old basset hound got attacked by a pit bull mix a few weeks ago. He got his stitches out a week ago. I made sure to warm him back up with walks and seeing other dogs from afar while on the walks. I was very worried he would get aggressive after the attack. We went to the dog park this morning and he was nervous around big dogs so I kept him in the small dog area. He does know and is comfortable with the small dogs. Bassets are a more clam breed in general. I was very happy with how well he did.

Watching this video is so calming compared to everyone else’s rage videos. Thank you. Being able to calmly discuss a difficult topic, without overshadowing it with your emotional reaction is such a great experience.

This is by far the most unbiased and informative reaction I've seen on this situation, thank you, Em 🖤

It's very sad that despite having extensive financial resources, they didn't seek out the help of professional dog trainers. I understand that some people don't have the time or money to deal with this situation in a different way, but that certainly wasn't the case here.

Growing up, my dogs ate in the kitchen, but we were taught not to bug them when they ate and to give them space when they wanted to be alone. Anyway agree with everything

Em i love your openmindness!!! Such a rare thing to see in this world and we need more of this!!!

Hey, I just wanted to say that I appreciate how calm and kind you are while talking about difficult subjects. It's not easy to achieve that mental attitude.

I hate to say it but this entire video reads as "we want sympathy for not informing ourselves about how to be competent dog owners first"

So, here is my story about why I kinda hate it when people say "Oh, we had to put our dog down because he/she became agressive towards our toddler" Years ago my aunt and uncle had a Schnauzer called Sargent Pepper, he was the sweetest, calmest, best boy ever. He was already an older dog (like around 10 or 12) and I spent a couple of weeks at their house, he (the dog) loved to curl up between my legs and have his head scratched, but he didn't run much or liked to be bothered too much because well he was old and not as active anymore. A couple months latter I found out my aunt and uncle had to put him down because he bit a kid (not their own but the same age and they were playing together). And I was SHOCKED, I couldn't believe he did that, he was so calm and nice, but I was like "If they thought it was the only choice, they must be right". A while after I went to the same house and they had gotten their kid a Beagle puppy, and I watched him (their kid) and two other kids (one of them was the one who got bit) "playing" with the puppy. The poor little puppy kept crawling under the bed, shaking, trying to get away from the children and they would crawl chasing the dog, grab him by the leg and pull him out while the dog tried to hold on to the carpet and kept shaking. THAT IS WHY THAT KID GOT BIT: Not because the dog was agressive, but because this children thought dogs were toys and probably did something that hurt or scared the dog.

5 seconds into the video and you can already tell how pissed she is. I love her!

Well done for using this opportunity to make an informative and helpful video for everyone.

Knowing Em is so understanding about this issue makes me so proud. My father killed my dog after she bit someone (i was 12 at the time) and way too many peopletold me "what if they bit you?" or "Aggresive dogs need to be put down" or "Why are you so sad its just a dog"

Btw speaking of crates..... I took my kittens home in a small carrier bag... And usually the carrier bags or anything like that is something animals don't like being around.... But i think when I rescued my kittens they really did appreciate all i have been doing for them, as they still will play and run in and out or sit on top of the carrier i took them home in 😭😭😭 They have no fear and use it as any of their other hides and cat homes. It's not hard for them to get in one when needed 😭😭😭💖💖💖

Thank you for the disclaimer at the beginning, I absolutely love you and your content but I am gonna have to sit this one out. I appreciate your thoughtfulness ♥️♥️♥️

You are such a kind and open hearted person, Em. More people should be like that.

28:21 YES PLEASE 🥺🙏 this is so incredibly hurtful and honestly makes me more angry and causes me to shut down more.

The way she talks about the dog really rubs me the wrong way. That's all I can say while being nice. 💔

Love that even though your channel is typically upbeat and fun, you’re not afraid to say what needs to be said about serious topics

I have been following you for a year now. I really love all of your work! Keep on going girl! Greetings from The USA! ❤😘

As a dog owner hearing ab the putting down of bowser and hearing the way you could do it literally made me cry. Props to you Em for being able to talk ab this as a dog owner.

When people use mental health names as common terms 😬😡 I’m glad you said something about that

I am so glad you did this video, especially with what you talked about with kids and dog safety. I was mauled by my family dogs growing up. I had a bad family home and was unsupervised. I was playing with the dogs food as a toddler and now have permanent teeth mark scars on my face in my 20s. My parents should never have neglected me like that and I hope your video helps others be safe and informed.

Makeup on point! And Thank you for all your videos!❤️you are strong and amazing❤️

I bawled when I saw the pictures of that freaking morbid photoshoot they did before putting him down.

When we had kids, we fenced off a part of our living room for the animals. That is their space to eat and get away from toddlers. When they need a break, they ask to go back in, and no kids allowed in their space. It means no bites from dogs and no scratches from cats and everyone is happy. Give animals their space.

I just read about this earlier today and was curious if you’d touch on it. You’re way kinder to these assholes than I could be 😅😅

Hey Em I just wanted to say I’m so proud of you for surviving and coming out the bright side of an abusive relationship you have helped me so much come to terms with what I went through as well! Thank you so much for making videos(sorry this isn’t about the video but just wanted to say! Also amazing makeup!!)

Love that I got a local vet ad on your channel - So appropriate.