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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

trixie cat activity board - screenshot

Enrichment toys for cats

By on September 1, 2014 in Enrichment Ideas, Other Species

In recently years, there’s been a huge increase in interactive toys and food puzzle toys for dogs. While there are some of these types of toys for cats, I think there is a lot larger selection of fun interactive dog toys. This is unfortunate, as many cats are quite active and playful and would enjoy […]

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Flower the black and white hooded rat

Flower learns about luring

By on August 25, 2014 in Rat (and Mouse) Training

I’ve been reading through Kay Laurence’s Clicker Foundation Training: Level 1 book. The book deals with many important foundation skills, such as food delivery, targeting, shaping, and adding cues. This is a book that I’ve read through several times, but there are lots of gems packed into it and I find new ones each time […]

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photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/comedynose/10652137486/in/photolist-hehZmS-ccGdYC-aE4rRX-9zLrv9-d1GbJ5-4VDGYk-6Hq9iu-bEe2op-brj79S-74AaPz-oyrJSP-9zHsEF-4esUNw-9pmNmB-7xRkku-9S3L2o-fFWixA-Bqubt-9ppQPj-9ppPy3-dgafnL-4xSVrY-dVKky-9k2tFb-8RbFZp-c5oJQ7-3TCxmL-3aHKwp-fqREDS-7Qrkdo-hyKvRF-9ZcDss-2kEHi-nNFJSy-brj73C-4pSJJ6-e63Rft-3nbRpa-nP7kEH-4HXwYy-a42Azr-79LQ2F-djjDkk-nWT7HN-c9ye4q-7aGHSU-6eL1He-aAGj8P-ny3jsS-7fJZky">comedy_nose</a>

Those pesky squirrels!!

By on August 2, 2014 in Dog Training

Do you have a dog that loves squirrels? My parent’s dog, Ginger, could sit in the backyard for hours watching the squirrels. Many dogs find squirrels quite interesting, which can be a big distraction during training. Recently, one of my advanced classes took a field trip to a local park. Although it was pretty warm, […]

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German shepherd puppy

Randomly and all the time

By on July 25, 2014 in Concepts and Terms

These two phrases — “randomly” and “all the time” — are ones that I hear quite often when I am working with my training clients. Often, dog owners call in a trainer because their pet is exhibiting behaviors that are annoying, frustrating, or even downright dangerous. My job as a trainer is to identify the […]

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Cute koalas and other zoo news

By on July 18, 2014 in Other Species

I had a very fun Wednesday this week! I got to present the research study that I did for my Master’s thesis at the Dallas Zoo, as part of a lunch lecture series that the zoo organizes for employees. It was fun getting to share my research and we got into some good discussions about […]

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