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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

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Chewie’s Diary Week 87: Green cones

By on October 9, 2026 in Chewie’s Diary

I recently acquired more traffic cones! They are bright green, and I have lots of fun ideas for how Chewie and I can use them in our training. Chewie walks between an orange cone and two green cones. However, first, I needed to introduce Chewie to the new cones. I did not think Chewie would […]

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Chewie’s Diary Week 86: Muddy Chewie!

By on October 2, 2026 in Chewie’s Diary

Fall is here! Our hot, hot summer and drought are finally over. Chewie and I are both happy about the cooler temperatures and rain. Chewie, as well, is quite pleased about rolling around in the damp dirt. Chewie takes a roll in the dirt Muddy Chewie! This week, we’ve starting expanding Chewie’s stay behavior. Up […]

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Chewie’s Diary Week 83: Tambourine target

By on September 11, 2026 in Chewie’s Diary

Chewie looks at and listens to the tambourine Earlier this week, Chewie and I spent some time playing with a small tambourine! We’ve spent a lot of time exploring new and interesting objects, including various objects for Chewie to stand on. (You can check out the exploration sessions tag to read about some of our […]

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