05/29/2026
Teaching your dog a cue that means, “I’m done playing right now. Go find something else to do,” can be very useful.
It doesn’t happen overnight. At first, your dog may not really understand what the cue means and will keep trying to re-engage you. The key is consistency. Once you give the cue, play is over. No throwing the toy one more time and no restarting the game a few minutes later.
Sometimes it helps to give the cue and then walk away, or move your dog to a different area where the toys aren’t present. This makes it easier for them to understand that playtime has ended.
Olive is 18 months old now, and she consistently walks away when I give the cue. Occasionally she’ll come back after a minute or two and try again, but I simply give the cue a second time and don’t re-engage with play.
Teaching your dog how to entertain themselves and settle when play isn’t available is such a valuable life skill. It takes patience and repetition, but once it clicks, it’s incredibly useful.
