Oh feel free to use this thread as a ranting board, that's what I intended when I started it. It makes me feel better to know other people are finding it just as hard! I need to rant SO badly this morning.
So my Dad's now been with us for 2 weeks - this is the longest period of time I have spent under the same roof as him since I was 18. I'd basically forgotten that he's got this temper which can suddenly flare up without warning.....
The dog, to be fair, has been an absolute angel and all the family had commented on it. And boy she's had to put up with some crap over Xmas (see my posts above!).
Anyway, yesterday she was a bit naughty - she nicked my Mum's hat while we were out and my Dad who thinks he knows a lot but actually knows NOTHING about dogs was apparently chasing her around the room trying to get it back (duh!), so he was feeling a bit exasperated with her already.
My Mum is staying, by prior arrangement, at a neighbour's house (because they are away for Xmas and our house is too full) and when she came over here last night, Dog immediately nicked her shoe :) and then in the commotion organised retrieval that followed, seemed to forget Mum had come round and Mum's presence suddenly startled her into barking at Mum (out of fear, hackles raised - possibly because Mum was wearing a coat and looked a bit different to normal). We kind of laughed it off as Dog is a bit daft/neurotic sometimes and this was one of a few funny incidents we have all witnessed over the past few days. Mum knew how to handle it by ignoring her and Dog soon calmed down once she realised it was Mum and not an intruder!
Dad, on the other hand, suddenly got really arsey and cursing the dog and then had a go at me because her bark was too loud. I answered back by saying that I had been repeating all week to ignore the bloody dog when you come in the house and that her barking at Mum/visitors in general was a direct result of people ignoring this. And what the hell was I supposed to do to make her bark more quietly anyway?!
20 minutes later and we're all sitting around waiting to go out for dinner. Dog jumps up onto the 'wrong' sofa (she has only recently been allowed on sofas and we are trying to restrict her to using just one). I half heartedly said 'Dog, get off' although I wasn't actually too bothered about it - if I was I would have got up and ordered her off.
Dad suddenly took it upon himself to act (I have no idea why), marched across to where Dog was and flicked her under the eye, saying 'Oi you, get off". I stood up and told him in a raised voice in a calm and adult way, NEVER to hit her in the face again. I was pretty shocked by him doing this.
He suddenly went into one of his childish strops/rages which I had totally forgotten about witnessing during my childhood. He yelled back at me, told me to SOD OFF and then sat down on the sofa in a huff. We all then went out to dinner without him.
I haven't spoken to him since, I am dreading him coming down for breakfast and quite frankly I wish he would piss off to a hotel.