Food aggression in 8 month golden retriever (male)

Question
Hi,

Our 8 month old golden retriever puppy (a boy) has a food aggression. We noticed it when he was only 4 months old. He would growl and snap when we approached his bowl or petted him while he was eating. We got really worried and started trying different training techniques. We stopped on a technique where we first feed him from our hands (no  bowl in sight) while petting him. It seemed to work. However every time we would try to gradually introduce the bowl he would start growling again. For a while we've been feeding him only from our hands (either my husband or myself) and it's been ok until this week. He snapped at my husband when he was petting him on his back. Ever since, he has been growling and snapping while eating. His behavior is completely unpredictable and he becomes vicious when it comes to food. Other than that he is the sweetest dog. Very good with people and other dogs. We don't have kids right now, but when we do, his aggression will definitely be a problem. We are planning to neuter him next week and hoping that it might make a difference, however we were told by a few trainers that neutering might not resolve this problem.
Would you be able suggest anything else? We really love the dog and don't want to give him away, however we don't know what else to try.

Thank you in advance for you help,
Y

Answer
Neutering greatly helps many behavior problems, but frequently you must do additional training.  

Try this.  Only put part of his food in his dish.  When he finishes, add more, and more when that is finished.  Soon he will welcome you getting near his food bowl.