weird behavior

Question
Here goes!  We have a Choc. Lab who is a little over 1 year old and she has been spay.  Abella has been acting strange lately and we are concerned.  First she will be sleeping or just laying on her bed and when we walk in the room and get close to her she will look away from you and either get up and move away from us or does a little growl.  Abella has never bit us or our children, just this little growl. I don't know if its because she wants to rest and doesn't want us bothering her or what.  If we sit down on the sofa she will come and greet us and then go back to her bed.  Even after growling she will approach you cowering and lay her head on your lap like she is saying sorry. Is she maybe not feeling well?  She plays normally all day and is a very friendly dog.  It seems like maybe this happens more in the evenings.  Abella gets lots of love and we don't know why she does this.  

Answer
I think young females can go through a ''touch me not'' phase.  Other than the growl, I wouldn't worry.  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