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

Should You Use A Mounting Block to Get On Your Horse?

By Mary Hunter on December 16, 2009 in Horse Training

Here are four good reasons why you might want to use a mounting block the next time you get on your horse: 1) Using a mounting block is better for your horse’s back. Jumping up into the saddle is quick and easy for you, but you could be putting a lot of strain on your […]

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What’s the purpose of the click in clicker training?

By Mary Hunter on December 14, 2009 in Concepts and Terms

This is a follow up post to Do I have to treat every time I click? The clicker is commonly thought of as one or more of the following: –a marker signal –a bridge signal –a secondary reinforcer –a cue The clicker is often thought of as a marker signal, meaning it marks good behavior. […]

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Do I have to treat every time I click?

By Mary Hunter on December 14, 2009 in Concepts and Terms

A recent discussion arose on a forum as to whether or not it’s best to delivery a treat (or other form of primary reinforcement) every time we click when clicker training. Part of the discussion stemmed from the fact that eventually, we want to fade out those treats. Random treats are more interesting and besides, […]

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Hoof Handling and Forgetful Training

By Mary Hunter on December 9, 2009 in Horse Training

I have been working on picking up Sebastian’s feet. Teaching a horse to let you pick up their feet is an important skill so that you can pick out their hooves and so that the farrier can trim their feet. When teaching this, I like to start with one front foot, then once that is […]

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Mark Rashid: Ground Driving 101 DVD

By Mary Hunter on December 8, 2009 in Book and DVD Reviews, Horse Training

I recently watched one of Mark Rashid’s DVDs, Ground Driving 101 , after renting it from Giddyupflix. I was interested in watching this DVD because I love Mark Rashid’s books and would like to start with some ground driving work with a few of the rescue horses. Overall, I was not very impressed with this […]

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Clicker Carnival #3

By Mary Hunter on December 4, 2009 in Carnival

Welcome to the third edition of the clicker carnival. This month’s edition of the carnival has links to some great training articles from the month of November. From good books to clever tricks, these articles will inspire you and (hopefully!) give you a few new things to think about during the month of December. Happy […]

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