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Try feeding your puppy in his crate and leaving him alone. Do this for about ten years. I bet that there are no issues with food aggression...

What does it matter that he eats in his crate

I personally think that some people take meal time manners/obedience a little too seriously. That being said...

I can completely understand the need to make it crystal clear to the dog that ANY aggression towards a member of my household is not acceptable. I don't care if my daughter walked up, grabbed his ear and yanked his favorite bone out of his mouth... not that I allow that kind of behavior from her either, but the point needs to be made that he is not allowed to guard anything from me or any other member of the household. We treat our dogs as fairly as we know how and they need to trust us enough to know that they have no reason to show aggression towards us. Maybe the rules are different with working dogs? Is this expecting too much?

I am always careful with what children are allowed to do. As far as the food goes, it is easy to make a small issue into a big issue for no apparent reason. Aggression towards children is a different issue. I have no tolerance for that. Feeding in the crate takes the issue of food aggression away.

What is your collective opinion about feeding a dog in his crate to prevent a more dominant dog from intimidating the younger while he eats?

Thanks so much everyone for the replies. Jeff Olsen, the reason I feel I need to be able to stick my hands near his food is b/c if he eats something I do not approve of or if he begins to choke, I would like to not have to deal with him snapping at me while I put my fingers in his mouth to remove the inappropriate object. Thats one of my main reasons. Secondly, I do feed him in his crate and have been for a little while. Its a great training aid and the word "box" drives him to go to his crate. Its nice for when we need to leave and need to get him in there quick. I only fed him at my feet for a little while in the beginning, but figured it was time to move him to the crate to finish his meals. I guess I was mistaken... haha.

I think with the advice I've been given and some of the reading I've been doing, I'm just gonna go back to square one and start feeding him his entire meals from my hand for a bit until I feel comfortable with his eating manners. My fiance feeds him the same amount of times I do. Usually, I'll feed him breakfast and she'll feed him his dinner. Or vice versa. So he knows we are both the food providers. Now we just need to instill that the food we give him is OURS to give OR take without any lip from him.

Also, I have seen that episode of the dog whisperer and that situation doesn't quite apply to me. My dog doesn't growl and freak out while he eats, its just sometimes when my hand goes near him while he's feeding. He doesn't always do it, but to me, any amount is too much.

Thanks again everyone.