GSD growling and begging for attention

Question
We have a three year old male German shepard, not neutered. He is my wife's dog in that she chose him and I left him alone pretty much so that he would bond to her. I think it worked...more or less. I am definitely the alpha male of the pack. The problem is that he now growls at my wife a lot. Most of the time he is pressing up against her or has his head in her lap with his tail wagging while he is growling. He is a 90 pound dog so any growl sounds fearsome. He has me worried enough to have got on his case a few times. My wife growls back at him and either pets him, rough houses with him or makes him lay down...depends on the circumstances. Does he need a shrink? Thanks for any clue toward this behavior.

Answer
Shepherds are more vocal than some breeds, but this does sound like a problem.  Having him neutered likely would be a good first step.  Then your wife needs to become more assertive.  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