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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

agility training mary and ginger

Target, lure, or free-shape? Which is best?

By on April 17, 2012 in Concepts and Terms, Conferences and Clinics

These are my notes from the 2012 Art and Science of Animal Training Conference. Click here for more notes from this conference. If you’ve been around enough clicker trainers and positive animal trainers, you’ll find that everyone has an opinion about shaping, luring and targeting. And, trainers often don’t agree about which of these methods […]

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Wordless Wednesday: Cute Kitten Photos!

By on April 11, 2012 in Other Species

On (almost) Wordless Wednesdays, I feature rescued animal in north Texas. Who doesn’t love cute kittens? These are some photos of a few adorable kittens who were brought to the Denton Animal Shelter recently. These kittens are all very young. They are in a foster home currently so that they can be bottle fed, but […]

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Three new rats!

By on March 30, 2012 in Fun Photos, Rat (and Mouse) Training

Well, I have three new friends living with me in my apartment now! Last weekend, I adopted Chloe, Amy, and Isabella from the SPCA of Texas. They join my two resident rats, Georgie and Lucy, bringing the rat count up to 5! Many people think of dogs and cats in shelters, but don’t realize that […]

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