Why don't you feed them across the room from one another for a while and then slowly, meal by meal, move his bowl back closer to your other dog's and give him a little break from his anxiety for a day or so now. Perhaps he took the coughing for alpha signals to back off and allow the pack leader to eat first or something like that. Who knows? Or he perceived your other dog was sick and is anxious as some pack members are when another is injured or ill and can no longer support his place in the pack, causing shifts in hierarchy - another reason for some anxiety. This is especially true if the injured/ill member is an alpha leader. But I'd get them apart for a bit at mealtime and work him slowly back over to the former eating area together over time.
__________________  Jeanie and Tibbe One must do the best one can. You may get some marks for a very imperfect answer: you will certainly get none for leaving the question alone. C. S. Lewis |