We've got a new puppy in our house which means that we've been going through the trials and tribulations of toilet training her. The basic principles of toilet training are vigilance (keeping an eye on what she's up to) and anticipation (getting to her before she urinates on the carpet). We managed this OK and would whisk her outside for her to do her business. But we were having trouble with her realising that outside is the ONLY place we wanted her to toilet. We were praising her when she did the right thing but it didn't seem to have any impact. It was only when we started giving her little food treats for doing the right thing that she seemed to experience her "Aha!" moment. This just goes to show that a puppy is far more responsive to food rewards than praise as a general rule.