Dog afraid to eat

[drivnkids]

I have a 3 year old  Lahpom that i am a little concerned about...all of a sudden he is food aggressive and i almost have to feed him by hand. This morning he was actually shaking while he was eating. We do have some 6 month old kittens that are a little pushy and as a submissive dog he does back off but over the last few days he will actually pin them and go after them if they are around his food bowl....i am now feeding them in separate rooms so the two can not mix but Chopper is still acting like he is afraid of his food...i had to hand feed him some of his kibble before he would actually eat and even then he did not eat as much as i know that he should.....he has also started growling at my boys..( no they are not mean to him) he has become a little possessive of me. I do make sure that when the situation warrants i acknowledge the boys first and push him away from me if he growls but its odd...up until about a week ago he would sleep with either of them and even play with them and the kittens and now all of a sudden its me and only me he wants to deal with.....He is an intact male and im wondering if this is hormonal and hes just getting his first real flush of sexual hormones and because im the alpha this is a bit of a pack mentality for him and what i can do to change the behavior.