visiting younger male dog

Question
I am dog sitting for my adult son's 2 year old Bassett Hound.  I have a couple of 12 year old chows. All are spay/neutered. The chows have been with me since they were 6 & 9  months old.(They are genetically unrelated and very close).The male chow is being occasionally aggressed on by the young Bassett. I don't want either one physically hurt or my male chow emotionally hurt.  I have, so far kept them from injury, pulling the growling attacking basset away.  I am keeping the chows in my bedroom, for safety at night.  Any help and/or advise would be appreciated. I'll have the Basset for another ten days, and if not resolved I will not dog sit for him again.

Answer
He needs to learn you are in charge, not him.  This is a little different with somebody else's dog, but do the best you can.  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