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

10 tips to improve your clicker training

By Mary Hunter on October 23, 2010 in Concepts and Terms, Teaching People

Clicker training is GREAT for dogs, cats, and horses. (And even lobsters and goldfish!) With clicker training, animals learn fast and are generally more interested and engaged in the training process. However, like anything else, clicker training is a skill. Being skilled at clicker training takes time and practice. Here are 10 tips that will […]

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More Progress with Apollo’s Feet (video)

By Mary Hunter on October 22, 2010 in Horse Training

As I wrote about last week, Apollo is doing a great job learning to pick up his feet. This can be a challenging skill for some horses to learn–clicker training really helps! In just a handful of sessions, Apollo has gotten very comfortable about me handling his feet. I started by just running my hand […]

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Rescued Horse stars in Old Spice Commercial Spoof

By Mary Hunter on October 18, 2010 in Horse Training

All right, you’ve probably seen the Old Spice commerical that ends with actor Isaiah Mustafa on a horse. (If not, you can watch the Old Spice commercial HERE). Some friends of the rescue I work with wanted to make a spoof of this commercial to help promote a blues dance event that is happening in […]

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photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/93014478@N00/3358790995">Stuart Bassil</a>

An Elephant Never Forgets (Ever?)

By Mary Hunter on October 16, 2010 in Research Studies

Does an elephant forget what she’s learned? Do other trained animals forget what they’ve learned? What implications does this have for training dogs, horses and other domestic animals? Elephant Memory Tests In 1964, Leslie Squier used operant conditioning to train several elephants at the Portland Zoo. He presented his findings that year at the meeting […]

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Does this bird know his colors?

By Mary Hunter on October 15, 2010 in Concepts and Terms, Other Species

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 […]

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Ginger needs suggestions for new dog tricks!

By Mary Hunter on October 14, 2010 in Dog Training

Alright, I need your help! I’ve been trying to spend more time training Ginger this fall. I have a project I’m working on with her for school, but I also want to work on more fun tricks. Two weeks ago we started on leg weaves (which are getting pretty good now!) and last weekend I […]

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