The Story of how my Dog saved my whole family and robot hitler from a bear with a rocket launcher

I think the first chapter feels out of place with the rest, gonna go back to it eventually. Also my characters are not well developed. This is my first crack at a book, only done short stories before more focused on the story and setting. Would like notes/tips for developing the characters, as well as opinions on possibly making the old man narrating the story and Jeff the same character (the old man is the son of the mother who goes to Australia.)