Food Aggression in 8 month old Golden

Question
My 8 month old golden retriever becomes extremely agitated when he is fed.  If you touch him while he is eating he will growl and show his teeth. Although it is not necessary for me to touch him while he eats I feel it is necessary for me to remedy this problem before I have children over to my home who may not know any better.  He is very good in all other situations, friendly and loves people.  What can I do to stop this problem?

Answer
I am glad you see the potential for a problem and want to take action.  
Having a good pack structure reduces such problems.  The 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/

Being the keeper of the kibble puts you a strong position.  The food dish doesn't get put down until he sits.  He sits until you say ''Free dog'' or you pick it up again.  I am not strong on hassling the dog by taking its food away once it has stated eating, but this may be a case for it.  

Start by only feeding only a portion of the meal.  As the puppy finishes the first portion, reach for dish and put some more in it, repeating until the whole meal is fed.  Get your puppy accustomed to this routine.  Next, pick up the dish to add a portion of the meal and then place it back down.  the idea here is that each time you come near the dish, you are making it better.