For at least twenty years, trainers have been tossing things at or near dogs. In the 70s, the popular thing was the "Throw Chain." Usually it was a choke chain with the ends fastened together, and you tossed it to get the dog’s attention. Everybody knew what it was. It worked sometimes, when used properly. There’s that phrase again: "when used properly"!

Let’s face it––you can train a dog without a collar or a leash or a whistle or almost any type of equipment, as long as you are consistent and firm and fair. Trainers try to make things easier on their students by introducing all the helpful techniques we can think of, but if the techniques are not used in the right frame of mind and with the right amount of force or restraint, they often don’t help as much as we would like.

Lots of things work. I’ve seen people train a dog using a can with pennies in it. I’ve seen them train by clapping their hands together. I’ve seen them train by tossing a throw chain. I’ve seen training done with a choke chain or a regular leather buckle collar. I’ve seen people train with a harness, and I’ve seen them train with pinch collars and shock collars. You have to decide what you feel comfortable with and have a professional work with you and your dog to find out what works best. Don’t do anything that makes you feel bad.