Sticky Learning

Fall has settled in to our area, and the beautiful colors, mild evenings and sunny days are accompanied by nature setting the stage for renewal next year. My somewhat clutzy but always lovable Golden Retriever, Sarge, comes running to me every evening now that fall has settled in. He skids to a halt and sits at my feet with a soulful look. He knows what to expect - help! Now that every plant on the farmstead is going to seed, the paths he follows while on patrol are full of stickers. It only took two nights of brushing his coat out with a curry comb for him to develop the expectation that, no matter what he gets into during the day, I will take care of helping him sort out the information he's collected.
The analogy to learning? In some roundabout way, Sarge has experienced some 'sticky learning' of his own. A romp in the fields results in his picking up a lot of things, not just scents of all those other animals that roam the area. And, running to your trainer when she calls you will result in immediate assistance.