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Are you interested in animal training?

Mary Hunter and her horse Apollo


On this site I share stories of my animal training adventures, information about the science of animal training and behavior, and tips and advice to help you improve your training.

Join me as we explore the best training strategies for creating fast learning, effective communication, and enthusiastic, willing animals.

If you’re new to Stale Cheerios, I recommend that you start by visiting this page to learn more about Stale Cheerios and that you visit my Top Posts page.

~Mary Hunter

Recent posts from the StaleCheerios blog

Training a 35 Pound Rodent? Oh My!

Training a 35 Pound Rodent? Oh My!

By on September 18, 2009 in Other Species

I’ve started volunteering at the Heard Museum with ORCA (a lab in UNT’s behavior analysis department that focuses on animal training).  One of the species we worked with on my first trip to the Heard was the Patagonian cavy, a 35 pound  South American rodent. I’ll admit, before going out there, I really had no […]

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Rosie Meets the Bareback Pad

Rosie Meets the Bareback Pad

By on August 31, 2009 in Horse Training

This weekend was Rosie’s first encounter with a bareback pad. We’ve played with a saddle pad several times and she’s done a great job, so I felt she was ready for the next step. The bareback pad turned out to be a non-event, which was what I had hoped would happen. Even though I know […]

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Are Saddle Pads Scary?

Are Saddle Pads Scary?

By on August 28, 2009 in Horse Training

Rosie and I played with a saddle pad for the second time yesterday. In traditional horse training, many horses will learn to put up with saddling without truly ever accepting the process. Or, through rough handling, they later learn to resent the act of being saddled. I want Rosie to like being saddled and to […]

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Animals in captivity

By on June 30, 2009 in Concepts and Terms, Other Species

Zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks, sea world, nature centers, personal pets, we encounter animals around us all the time. Many of the wild animals we encounter today (especially in zoos and aquariums) are bred in captivity, rather than collected from the wild. Animals have a host of needs that must be met in captivity. If the […]

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