Protective Instinct

Question
I have a german shepherd puppy who is now about 8 months old.  We adopted her from a shelter at four months.  She has really bonded to me and is my shadow wherever I go.  Lately, when my husband or teens walk into the room and take her by surprise, she starts barking at them and growling like she is trying to protect me.  One time my husband came walking down the hall from the garage with a hammer in his hand and she went nuts and lunged at him.  She "hit the brakes" and ran hiding when she realized it was him.  I don't want her showing aggression towards my family, but love her dearly and know she feels she's protecting me.  What can we do to work with this situation?

Answer
She is maturing and taking on more responsibility.  It will only get worse as she get older.  It is possible she had too little exposure to men before she was 12 weeks old.  If so, changing things now will be difficult.You must take over as leader.  It then will be your responsibility to deal with scary people and protect her, instead of her having to do it.  

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