british bulldog

Question
Hi, we have a british bulldog she is 8 months old, i have a few questions really 1: when she has been fed or maybe being given a treat she really rushes it down as fast as possible same with her normal food i did watch a program and it said something about it could be a sign of behavior problem, i try to always make her sit before letting her eat and also i put my hand in her bowl to try let her no that its not going to be taken back from her its as if she is scared its going to be taken straight back we have had her from her leaving her mum so cant understand why?.
2: when we are eating etc she begs alot she even brings her nose as close to our food as possible and it is not nice.
3: she will pick anything up off the floor i.e kids toys stationary anything really and she will try to eat it im worried she may end up gettin ill from it.
If you could help us with these problems it will be really appreciated.
Thanks very much

Answer
Basically what you are saying is your puppy is acting like a puppy?  You need to establish yourself as the leader with your dog and deal with any issues that you do not like by teaching her what is acceptable and what isn't according to your rules.  The eating issue is fairly common with some dogs and it is actually more natural for a dog to eat quickly than to eat slowly.  She probably isn't eating fast because she is afraid of losing her food but rather because it seems natural for her.  I can go through all the reasons why these things occur but it isn't important and you would be better off to focus on teaching her what the acceptable behaviors are.  It is okay for a dog to beg but not okay for it to invade your personal space or get that close to your food.  You really would benefit by investing in my booklet it was developed and written specifically for dog owners like yourself.  It's cheap simple and 100% effective.  By using the ONE, TWO, GOOD DOG! protocol you can adapt whatever training method you choose to use to be a quick effective solution to any of these problems.
One of the first steps I always take with dog under two years old or until they have proven to not be chewers is to simply remove anything they can chew that they are not suppose too. This eliminates about 80% of the problem.  Then I work through the process of teaching them what is acceptable to chew and what is not by way of the ONE, TWO, GOOD DOG! protocol.  This is very simple and goes like this:  First I determine my objective-- what I want the dog to do.  Next I select an action on my part that will "force" the dog to do this.  This can be anything from food to punishment your choice.  Next I teach the dog what praise/reward is so that when it does what I want I can help it identify the behavior to repeat.  Now I look for no less than 15 reps in a 3 to 5 minute period.  You can get a good idea of this by looking through the other questions I've answered here where I get very specific.  The reason I do not explain specifically how to deal with one of your issues is because the real issue is not specific but the general problem of having a strong willed breed and not knowing how to deal with it and that is why I suggest the booklet.  It is 100% guaranteed to be simple and easy to follow.  I believe you will have many years of enjoyment sharing your dogs life if you take a leadership position to help the dog deal with all the unnatural things you are going to expect it to do.
If you are still unsure of what to do please give me a call. Dr. Hogan 509-991-0385
You can find the booklet at: http://invincibleservices.com/html/one__two_good_dog_.html