Most Dogs Don't Fail in the Field. They Fail in the Foundation.
A live training session on what's really happening when your dog starts popping, no-going or not stopping and what to actually do about it.
FREE WORKSHOP
PAT BURNS
Retriever trainer with 40+ years of experience, Over 100 Field Trial and Amateur Field Champions, including 5 National Champions and thousands of handlers coached at every level
📅 May 13th, 2026
🕗 8pm ET
💻 Live Online
💸 Free
THE PROBLEM
At some point, most dogs hit a stretch where things start coming apart.
They don't go like they used to. They don't stop clean or they start avoiding water. You try to address it with more pressure or more repetitions, but it just makes things worse.
Most of the time, those problems didn't start there. They show up later, but they were brewing much earlier. During basics. When everything felt smooth.
When basics are done the right way, those moments aren't surprises. They've already been introduced, worked through, and cleaned up.
What You'll Walk Away With
By the end, you'll understand:
✓ What basics are actually meant to build — and the specific things most trainers skip over without realizing it
✓ How to work through those moments in a way that makes sense to the dog — not just correcting the symptom and hoping it holds
✓ What a complete foundation looks like, start to finish — and how to build one that actually holds up when it matters
✓ Where things go off track early — before it ever shows up in the field, when it's still fixable
At the end, I will walk you through how I structure this into a full Basics program (Bombproof Basics) if you want help putting it all together.
WHO THIS TRAINING IS FOR
This workshop will be pivotal if what you've tried so far isn't sticking and you want to understand what you're actually looking at, not just put a patch on it.
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You've got a young dog working through basics and want to build it right the first time
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You've got a young adult dog starting to show cracks and you're not sure why
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You've got an older dog that needs to be cleaned up and reworked from the ground up
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You're at any stage and want to understand what you're seeing instead of just reacting to it
WHAT STUDENTS ARE SAYING
"When problems showed up, I knew exactly how to work through them. No one close to me had ever trained their own retriever from basics to Master level — and Pat's approach made it possible."
— Bombproof Basics Student Rick S.
Junior Hunter → 7/7 Master passes → Master National
"Other training videos were missing the micro-steps — especially through force fetch. Pat's program gave me exactly what I needed. My dog isn't doing a job. He's crazy to play the game every single day."
— Bombproof Basics Student Bonnie W.
"Maintain high standards. Be thorough. Be patient. Slow the pace. Teach in order to reward — instead of constantly correcting. These are the things Pat taught me that I use every single day."
— Bombproof Basics Student Cynthia A.
Join 1000+ handlers who've attended Pat's training sessions and learned to see the patterns that shift everything.
Meet Your Mentor, Pat Burns
Hi there — I'm Pat Burns.
It all started in 1984 at Handjem Kennels, training alongside Mike Lardy. That foundation shaped my career and set me on a path that’s spanned decades of training, competing, and—most importantly—mentoring others.
In 1986, I co-founded Esprit Kennels, where I worked with countless talented dogs and handlers. Then in 2007, I returned to Handjem, continuing to refine my craft and help others do the same.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege to contribute to the success of more than 100 Field Trial Champions and over 50 National Finalists, including five National Champions.
But more than the titles, what drives me is helping trainers truly understand their dogs—and themselves.
I’ve spent my career guiding handlers through the nuances of this game. It’s never just about setups or mechanics. It’s about clarity, connection, and knowing what needs to happen—and why.
I owe a great deal to two key mentors in my life: Rex Carr, who gave me my start and shaped how I think about excellence, and Mike Lardy, who taught me that great training is built on thoughtful problem-solving, not just repetition.
While most of my work is with retrievers, the principles apply to any working dog where you're teaching control, handling, and response under challenges.