Gandolf, our rescue pooch with dog aggression and some people aggression, was given a steak bone by a neighbor the other day. The neighbor, who is wheelchair bound, stuck it through the fence. We have encouraged him to bring treats, because both Gandolf and our other dog bark at him mightily as he wheels down the alley. The treat giving has reduced this a lot, although never has the neighbor given Gandolf such a "high ticket" item.
I saw the neighbor wheeling away, and went out to the backyard to see what Gandolf got. I saw it was a steak bone, and asked Gandolf to "give," mostly so the two dogs would not fight over the item. Gandolf dropped the bone, but did not move away, and briefly lifted his lip at me. Mind you, he has never shown any aggression to me or my husband, - no growling, no lip lifting, no nothing, so I was a little worried. I told him no, calmly but with authority, asked him to "out," (go away) so that I could safely pick up the bone, which he did.
I know that some say when a dog is not willing to give an item up, give the "give" command and when he complies, give him a higher value object, but what do you do when he's got the highest value object? Also, should I have done anything differently? (I did eventually give him the bone, but it was awhile after I orignially took the bone from him, and I had him do multiple tasks first, like come, sit, stay, heel, etc. before I allowed him to have the bone in his crate.) Maybe he should never have gotten the bone?