I'm so angry at my dog!!

Did you ever listen to 710 WOR Radio on Saturdays 4-6 PM? There is a Pet Show where you can phone in your questions and Dr. Warren Eckstein (I believe) gives very sound and practical advice.
Yesterday a very similar question came up about a dog reacting that way to men.
His advice may work for you.
He said to tape record a man's voice (in this case your Dad). Have him speak to Roscoe in a very gentle, reassuring voice. Play this tape over and over again. Then when your Dad is ready to come into your home again, he should go straight to the dog - not speak or acknowlege you or anyone else - and speak to him in the same gentle manner. He should continue to bring the dog a treat or a toy. He may need to repeat this, but according to Dr. Warren, it should help.
I would definitely encourage you to tune into his program and maybe phone in yourself and see if you can get some answers. What an unfortunate situation for all of you to be in. I really hope you work this out.

Good luck.

Just curious .. is this a sudden change .. or has Roscoe always seemed to have a problem dealing with your dad?

Maybe your dad reminds him of someone from his past.

I know this is probably not an ideal solution .. but worst case .. could you keep Roscoe in an isolated room when your dad comes over.

My kitty seems to have a problem with my husband's brother .. we don't know why .. we try to let him still have the run of the house when brother-in-law comes over .. but if kitty starts acting weird .. or if brother-in-law feels threatened .. we put kitty in his room.

I could never even consider giving kitty away because of an occaisional visit from a family member that he doesn't seem to get along with.

Definitely try to do an intervention to bring them together .. but if that doesn't work .. consider doing the seperation during family visits.

Also .. is there anyone from where you got Roscoe from who might be able to shed some light on his history?? It could help in understanding why he's having such feelings.

Your dog should NEVER growl at anyone you bring into your home!! When he growled at your dad the first time - what was your response to the dog's behavior? He needs to get the message from you that his growling is unacceptable or else he's going to keep doing it. Reprimand Roscoe the second he growls at your father. He needs to be VERY clear that this is BAD behavior so he won't do it again, otherwise if he's not corrected, he'll keep acting this way with your father and you have a potentially dangerous situation on your hands....

You mentioned that your father is now afraid of your dog. Dogs can pick that up from a mile away and when he senses that in your father, Roscoe will also become stressed and nervous. If you have full control over your dog and can handle him, your dad should have no reason to fear Roscoe when he growls at him. Reassure your dad if you need to, then try slowly reintroducing him to your dog. He needs to relearn how to greet people so it's almost like socilaizing a puppy at this point. Have your father hold one of Roscoes favorite toys or a special treat, and have him call him with a sweet and gentle voice. If he starts growling, you need to step in and correct the dog immediately. We bought a great book by the Monks of New Skete called The Art of Raising a Puppy, and there's a really good section on treating this kind of uncalled for behavior in your dog. They recommend a quick shake by the scruff of the dogs neck, accompanied by a sharp NO! With the smaller dogs, this might be a bit too much, so a quick squirt in the face with a spray bottle will also work in that case. Repeat until the behavior stops. When he's not growling and can greet your father nicely, praise him and give him a treat. Good behavior = rewards, soon Roscoe will associate your Dad with good things if you keep that up. Your dog should be following your example as the pack leaders - for him to decide on his own that he's going to single out your dad for growling is NOT acceptable and must be corrected asap - I can't stress that enough.

DH and I have a 15 week old male Rottie pup - so we've done a LOT of research on training and correcting dominant/bad behavior. I hope I don't seem like a know-it-all, I'm far from it But, we've just learned so much onthis subject, and I hope some of this can help you too! You CAN teach your dog not to growl at Dad, but it will most likely take a lot of time and patience - don't give up! Banishing him to another room really isn't the best approach because he's not learning how to act if you're just removing him from the situation. He needs to know that he listens to you, no matter what, and if you say that Dad is cool, then Roscoe should not be acting otherwise. It prob wouldn't hurt to check into his background too, just to see if it sheds any light on his strange behavior. Dogs.... we love them so much, but they drive us CRAZY sometimes!!!!!!!

All this is JMO, I just hope it might be of some help to you good luck, and don't give up on your doggy!!