It sounds like your dog has had a nasty past, and may of been beaten by an elderly person. You could try contacting the kennels you got him from and asking them if they know of any past traumas. Best thing to do is to allow the dog to get used to your elderly family members in his own time. If you try and force him he will only get scared and become violent. Another good way is when he starts to accept your elderly family member more would be for them to groom him, this is a fantastic way to bond with an animal.

well these people may look or smelll different than ur dog is used to and yes ur dog may have been beeten by elder people or people with the same smell. i would assume smell becouse dogs usually distinguish people by smells. perhaps they used a certain perfume or air freshener in thier home. just introduce him gradually to get him comfertable

Im leaning towards his first owner before he was in the shelter was elder. Dogs remember perspectives of their owners as in hair color ****** features so if they see a grey haired wrinkled person they may think it was their old owner.
The old owner may have beat’n him or maby just ignored him. It may not necessarily have been the owner though. Maybe the old owner had a mean neighbor that was elder and everytime he saw the dog he told it to shut up or threw something at it.

My dog is from a pound and he growls at people who wear hats. I woundered why and my guess is that who ever owned him first hit him with hats because when i raise a hat he ducks. Thats a little obvious though. lol (we dont hit him with hats! lol never)

So it just depends. Get your dog used to elders by maybe if you know one have hium/her come to your house iwth a treat and see how the dog reacts. Be careful though. you never know what the dog will do.

Good luck,
-joelle