growling

Question
hi my partner and i recently adopted a 1yr old german shepherd from the rspca. she is shy around men in the house (not outside) but we have been working with her flat out and she has begun to bond with my partner. she will play with him, and listen to commands  from him, although you can see she is more anxious around him than with me. if i have gone to bed and she is on her bed in our bedroom and my partner comes up stairs ( even if she has been playing with him 10min earlier) she will growl and bark at him even after the light  has been switched on and she can see him and he reassures her. this happens also if she has been asleep and he wakes her up. any ideas why she does this, and how we can help her to relax around him??
cheers laura

Answer
It could be that she has had bad experiences with men and does not completely trust your partner yet.

I would suggest having him become her primary caretaker to facilitate the bonding process.  Let him be the one to do all the nice, fun things like feeding, watering, playing, walking, etc. and you can be the one to do the things she doesn't like, such as toenail clipping, bathing, etc.

Have him carry treats with him and give them to her randomly throughout the day, especially when he comes upstairs to bed.  She will learn to anticipate his coming up as meaning she will get a goody.

Here is some other information that may be helpful.  

http://www.marinhumanesociety.org/Behavior/Handouts/PEP.pdf
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/nilif.pdf
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/educated-dog.pdf
(him taking her to obedience class is a great way to bond as well)