Alright readers, here’s a challenge for you. Check out this youtube clip below of a raven, who is being trained to peck at a yellow bowling pin. He has two choices–peck yellow or peck blue. If he pecks the correct pin, he receives a bit of food as a reward. If he pecks the incorrect [...]
Getting to Yes by Sharon Foley
I recently finished reading Getting to Yes by Sharon Foley. What a great book! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to learn more about clicker training and positive step-by-step methods to improve their horse training. I bought this book over a year ago and have used it from time to [...]
Are You Having Fun Yet? (video)
Horse training (or dog training, parrot training, fish training, etc.) should be fun. Let me repeat, training an animal should be fun and enjoyable for both you and the animal! So, are you having fun yet? And is your horse or dog having the same amount of fun? Many times we say an animal (or [...]
Teaching Your Dog (or Horse) to Think
I’ve been watching Bob Bailey’s Fundamentals of Animal Training DVD. I’ve watched the first disc, and am really enjoying the set so far. Bob Bailey is not only an excellent trainer; he has a gift for being able to communicate ideas clearly and concisely. I plan to write a proper review after I watch the [...]
Stale Cheerios: The Best of 2009
These are some of my favorite posts from 2009. I’ve picked a few of the ones I enjoyed writing the most, as well as some of your favorites–posts that got the most views and the most comments. Let me know if I’ve left any of your favorites off the list! If you are a newer [...]
Mountain Coatis and Training Mechanics
I played just a bit this afternoon with the Mountain Coati at the Heard Museum. Coatis, which are close relatives of the raccoon, are found in South America and some parts of South Texas. This coati was a gregarious, agreeable sort of fellow, similar to most raccoons that I’ve met. We mainly worked on a [...]
Are You a Splitter or a Lumper?
Horse clicker trainer Alexandra Kurland often speaks of splitters and lumpers. These are funny words, but they refer to an often serious training problem! Most behaviors can be broken down into many smaller pieces and approximations. When we break our goal down into tiny chunks and build gradually to a target behavior, we’re being a [...]
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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