Vibrate and beep mode I would consider a great alternative. The biggest thing you do is when they get obsessed with something this breaks their concentrations. If gives them a chance to come back a little to reality. So if a dog is focused in on another dog or something a vibrate or a beep can break their concentration. You want to redirect though in this situation to make sure they do not focus and lock back in again. I would also use a verbal cue with this as well so eventually you can get rid of this or when yo don't have it on there is a verbal cue you can use to reel them back in.