I just wanted to add a few ideas about the food issue - purely my own take on it.

Using part of the dog's daily food ration as rewards for appropriate behaviour is a good way of ensuring a og that is motivated by food does not become overweight. I would be cautious about using the whole days ration in this way as it gives the dog a very mixed signal. On one hand you are controlling the food and he only gets it when behaving appropriatley but on the other hand a strong Alpha does not keep a constant supply of food coming no matter how the pack behaves. The dog will never have the sensation of being full and satisfied by a meal - very important to a dog - and this will reinforce the fact that the Alpha is not doing her job properly. It is natural for a dog to eat, feel full, then go through a satisfied period followed by a period of feeling hungry before eating again. This is the motivation to hunt and thus feed again. As opportunists they will also eat anything that comes along in between but the basic feeding behaviour is meal, rest , hunt, meal.
Hand feeding the meal is another issue that I feel uncomfortable with - the theory behind it seems plausible until you look at natural pack structure. Once the Alpha has eaten and is satisfied he/she leaves the rest of the pack to sort out their own meals and order of eating and pays no attention to who eats what and when they eat it. If the food source is large the Alpha allows others to feed at the same time but he/she always chooses which are the best bits of the meal for him/herself. This is a major and vital behaviour for all pack members. By hand feeding, the Alpha is showing an unnerving interest in what lower ranking individuals are eating. It also shows that the Alpha is unsure of his/her own judgement and needs to pick through the food to ensure that he/she really has got the best bits before letting lower ranking dogs eat. It is unfair and unnatural because once the Alpha has eaten he/she should go away and ignore those still eating.

The most effective feeding routine that I have ever used sticks to the pack rules rigidly and reinforces the Alpha's status in every aspect. When you are ready to prepare the dogs meal put his feeding bowl on the kitchen work top. Put a small side plate or soup bowl (human dish of some kind) next to the dog bowl. Put a small item of human food onto the plate (this may be a few grapes, a cracker - anything small) and prepare the dogs food in the dog bowl. Ignore the dog as you do this (no speaking, touching or looking at him). When the dogs food is ready, wash your hands then calmly eat the human food you have put on the plate, still ignoring the dog. Clear away the plate when you are finished - don't rush about it, take your time. Then pick up the dog's bowl turn to the dog and command a sit before putting the food down on the floor and allowing the dog to eat. Walk out of the room and stay away for 10 minutes ( bags of time for a Lab!!!). Then go and pick up the food bowl, do not leave it down even if the food is not finished.
This is asserting yourself as Alpha with no question - in the dog's eyes you have provided a meal but have ensured that you have eaten the best bits first (the human food the dog has seen you eating)- a very strong signal and the dog has no chance to challenge your status in this situation.
The other advantage of this is that your own meal times are freed up - there is no reason why a dog should associate a family meal with its own feeding time ( a lot of people say that they eat before they feed their dog thinking this is the way to show who is Alpha - many dogs will not connect humans eating at a table with their own food).

I hope this helps and at the least is another point of view.