Are you interested in animal training?

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

2013: The year in review

By Mary Hunter on January 12, 2014 in News and Updates

2013 was an exciting year, full of lots of adventures and also some big changes for me. I had lots of fun training dogs, rats, horses, and other critters, as well as sharing training articles and stories on my blog. First, here are three of my favorite training articles from 2013, in case you missed […]

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Foobler: A smarter way to feed your dog

By Mary Hunter on January 9, 2014 in Dog Training, Enrichment Ideas

If you spend much time on Facebook (or read Sophia Yin’s blog) you might have already heard about the Foobler. The Foobler is an innovative new interactive puzzle feeder for dogs. I have many clients with young, active dogs. These clients are often interested in training or consultations because their dogs are spending too much […]

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Leave It games: Treats on your toes (video)

By Mary Hunter on December 18, 2013 in Dog Training

I had some extra time to do some dog training with Ginger, my parent’s Brittany, when I was at their house for several days over the Thanksgiving holiday. One behavior that we have been working on perfecting is Ginger’s “Leave It” cue. The value of a great “Leave it” cue Leave it is such a […]

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photo from: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/

Chaser: Can dogs learn language? (book review)

By Mary Hunter on December 14, 2013 in Book and DVD Reviews, Dog Training

I recently finished reading Dr. John W. Pilley’s new book, Chaser: Unlocking the genius of the dog who knows a thousand words (view on Amazon). You might have heard of Chaser; over the past couple of years she has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s World News, and PBS’s Nova ScienceNow, as well as in […]

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Books, books, and more books

By Mary Hunter on December 10, 2013 in Book and DVD Reviews

Thanks to all who entered last week’s book giveaway for a copy of The Possibility Dogs! I used random.org to selected a commenter, and the random number generator selected comment number 6, which was Mary from Maryland. I’ve contacted Mary and she’ll be receiving a copy of the book in the mail later this week. […]

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Waiting to capture a behavior?

By Mary Hunter on December 9, 2013 in Dog Training

Positive reinforcement trainers usually rely on several different methods to train new behaviors. This includes (but is not limited to) shaping, capturing, and luring. Capturing is often described as waiting for the behavior to happen, then rewarding it when it does. The idea is to teach the animal that the behavior “pays off.” Once the […]

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