Teaching your little dog not to bite over food requires patience, and a good deal of bravery, for both you and your dog. Your dog must learn to trust you to give and take food at your discretion, that you won’t let her starve. Dogs that bite over food believe that the food belongs to them, and that they obtain it and must then defend it. Such dogs are also prone to food hoarding, burying food in caches around your house and yard for later. Their behavior is founded in a deep food anxiety, and an inappropriate use of their guarding instinct. Little dogs sometimes feel threatened by other dogs and humans who are so much larger and more powerful than them. They feel that they must protect themselves and their food at all costs. Since many little dog breeds are bred to be tenacious and fearless, this insecurity can result in a really amazing aggression in such a small dog.
Teaching your little dog to not bite over food requires teaching her to look at food, and you, differently. While not at all impossible or really even that difficult, this is a complex behavior and mindset that you are trying to teach, and not a simple trick. As a result, it may take a good deal of time and repetition for your little dog to fully internalize these concepts.