Anyway, this morning before I came to work I worked on charging the clicker and when Frodo thought I was taking too long he started offering downs, so I clicked them. Then I stopped clicking for the down and he took it further by putting his head down while laying down (he learned these as two separate behaviors). I'm excited about this, it's much better than his previous "offered" behavior, which was to look at me and bark!
If I have any energy tonight I am going to see if he wants to play the game that Laura suggested with the box since we will not be taking a walk tonight.
We also played tug today. Frodo loves tug, but it doesn't hold his interest for very long so we have to keep sessions really short to keep him wanting more. I am hoping we can build this up so that eventually it can become a reward I can use outside of the house.
I need to make a bigger effort to do things like that with Frodo. He doesn't initiate play with me very often at all, and I sometimes forget that with Izzy gone, he doesn't have anybody else who is willing and able to play with him. His little nub was wagging when we were charging the clicker this morning though, which made me happy!
That's great that he's offering behaviours! It's a big step in the right direction with marker/clicker training. That shows that he is THINKING and that he is willing to please :)
Keep at it with the tug! Absolutely keep the sessions short and build up from there, always leaving him wanting more. It took me about a year to build up that desire and drive in my boy, but look at him now you would never know ... the tug has become a high value reward for him :)