I have a similar problem with my new little dog. She's very fussy and barely eats a thing, so its really important that she gets to eat in peace. My other two dogs will try to eat her food if they get the chance. I realized she has to be fed separately...So I put her food into the play yard and zip her in, so she can nibble in peace. In her case though, the only way I can really get her to eat is to hand feed her
She's very tiny even compared to my teapot Sunni, and wont fight for her space (yet) I'm hoping that will change, but for now its no biggie to just let her eat separately at her own pace.