agressive adult dog

Question
I just got two 11wk old puppies, one male one female, I took them up to my parents house, they live on a farm with two adult dogs, a male boxer and a female collie/springer (both neutered). once in the house the springer female began to growl at the female pup, i tried to calm the situation by distracting the adult dog but she ended up biting the young pup, not overly aggressively just a warning nip. once outside in the yard however she plays with the young dogs, how can i get passed the indoor aggression, the situation becomes worse when my mother and father are in the room, the adult female dog will even growl at us when we try to remove her from the room.

Answer
While it is OK for her to let the puppy know their relative status, she must understand how she stands in regard to your parent s and you. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm