I am not a hunter, but a sporting dog enthusiast who trains with a hunter and her beautiful Golden Retrievers. She has been helping me with my 2 Goldens (3yo and 8 months). She introduced me to the concept of place training and platforms to re-enforce the command to sit until it is the dog’s turn to work. It is working like I never imagined. The CD that came with the Cato Platform was a great review of what my friend was teaching me.

I purchased two of the turf versions when I also acquired my pup from the product developer ( In fact the Cato product is named after my pup's sire!) I started using this for the place command almost immediately and love it. It's durable, right size and height. Tough, well designed product.

I watched the video before I purchased and the actual product was every bit as good as claimed, if not better. Also Gun Dog Supply got it to me very quickly.

My CBR is just now 5 months old and doing really great. The Cato place board has been invaluable as a tool to help with his retrieving, holding, and stay. It gives him a good visual of where he is supposed to be. It is also MUCH more stable than some other place boards or raised beds I have used in the past and it does not tip over at all. That has helped with his confidence in jumping on and off the board. I initially got the turf grass surface as it seemed like that would not get hot in the Colorado summer sun. My second board has the rubber surface. There are pros and cons to each - the turf doesn't get hot but it can get slick when it's been water logged by a wet pup. The rubber gets warmer in direct sun but doesn't get slick at all.