FREE PURINA MASTERCLASS
Register below for Pat's next Masterclass
with Andy Attar of Autumn Run Kennels
Recognizing Greatness in Retrievers
Identifying Talent Early — and Knowing How to Develop It
On February 18th at 8:00 PM ET, Pat Burns sits down with his longtime friend and respected colleague Andy Attar of Autumn Run Kennels for a special Purina Masterclass that goes deeper than drills, setups, or mechanics.
This conversation is about something most handlers feel… but struggle to define.
What does real talent look like in a retriever?
When do you know you’re seeing something special?
And more importantly… what do you do next?
Together, Pat and Andy will share stories, lessons, and hard-earned perspective from decades of training, evaluating, and developing exceptional dogs at the highest levels of the sport.
A special part of this Masterclass will honor the legacy of Candlewood Kennels, and one remarkable dog:
Candlewood's Tanks a Lot: a three-time National Champion.
Andy owned “Lottie” early on before she went to Mary Howley, whose influence through Candlewood left a permanent mark on the retriever world. Mary’s recent passing makes this conversation not only educational… but meaningful
Join us for a this special Purina Masterclass
📅 Date: February 18th , 2026
⏰ Time: 8:00 PM ET
🌐 Location: Online
The link to join Masterclass will be emailed to you 1 hour before the event if you have registered prior to 7:00 PM EASTERN. IF you DON'T get the email, please check your JUNK & SPAM folders.
If you are unable to join us for the live event, all of Purina Masterclass replays will be posted in the Purina Masterclass Library.
Meet Andy Attar
Andy has been training since 1985. Starting at Handjem with Mike Lardy, he developed a young dog program that is still current and relevant today. During his time with Handjem, Andy was fortunate to train and handle some great dogs; including Big River Bon Amie, Candlewoods Super Tanker, Gusto Lost Control, Candlewoods Tanks A lot, Hattie Macbunn and Honest Abe. These great dogs and countless others have helped to shape and define Andy’s career.
Forming Autumn Run Kennels in 1993, Andy has trained a national derby champion, multiple top 10 derby dogs, and nearly 50 champions, making Autumn Run one of the premier professional kennels today.
Over the years, Andy has lectured and conducted many workshops and seminars. Whether working with puppies or All-Age dogs, Andy aims to educate and enhance the skill sets of competitive retriever handlers.