As some of you know, I’m part of a research lab at UNT called ORCA. Every year we put on a big animal training conference with some of the world’s top trainers. Well, we just recently opened up registration for the 2011 conference! The conference will be all day on Saturday, February 19, 2011 in [...]
Happy Happy Horses and Karen Pryor comes to UNT
Spring is in full bloom in Texas. Green grass, green trees and lots and lots of blue bonnets and other lovely wild flowers! The horses are enjoying the weather. They’re kicking up their heels and then burying their heads in the wonderful spring grass. I’ve been busy too, playing with the ponies as well as [...]
Bob Bailey and Animal Training
I’m nearing the end of a series of posts on the 2010 Art and Science of Animal Training Conference. This post is some of my thoughts on the presentation by the second speaker, and one of my favorites, Bob Bailey. Bob Bailey is well known through out the dog training world for his infamous chicken [...]
Steve Martin: Training Birds with Trust Accounts
I love hearing Steve Martin speak. (the bird trainer, not the actor!) He was one of my favorite speakers at the 2009 Art and Science of Animal Training conference and I enjoyed his talk at this year’s conference just as much. These are a few of my thoughts from his talk. Steve Martin is a [...]
Ken Ramirez: Animal Trainers Need People Skills Too!
Ken Ramirez, the head trainer from the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, spoke about the skills necessary to be a good animal training consultant at the Art and Science of Animal Training Conference. His talk, titled Wanted: Animal Trainer Consultant, those good with animals need not apply, emphasized how a good consultant or instructor MUST have [...]
Kay Laurence: Assessing Your Animal Training Skills
Are you good at training animals? Are you great at shaping, but not so good at putting behavior under stimulus control? You know you’re a better trainer than your next door neighbor, but you’re nowhere near the level of the expert trainer who runs your agility class…. Good, better, worse, best, intermediate, beginner, expert. The [...]
Alexandra Kurland and Loopy Training
At the Art and Science of Animal Training conference this year Alexandra Kurland spoke about loopy training, which is a concept she has been developing over the past year. Loopy training was the focus of a clinic I did with Alexandra Kurland last fall. The more I hear about it, the more it makes sense [...]
What’s the best way to train an animal?
Stale Cheerios will help you learn new knowledge and techniques to take your training skills to the next level. So stick around, your animals will be grateful!
I'm a graduate student studying the science of behavior and training. On this blog I share stories of my animal training adventures, as well as tips, techniques and tricks to help you improve your training. Although most of this blog centers around training rescue horses, the ideas discussed apply equally to all species. The other animals I work with, including dogs and rats, also appear occasionally on the blog.
Mary Hunter
cheeriotrainer@gmail.com
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