TJ is the same way....
I have a small blue Maxwell House coffee can filled with coins, and YES this is PURE FEAR for him.
I do not even have to shake it anymore, I carefully hold the can and alert his attention to the can, he shuts up and tail between his legs in PURE FEAR. Sometimes I show him the can (when he is barking on the couch out the window) and then I will place the can on the TV or staircase, so he knows it is there....BUT now after reading your story about poor Buddy, maybe I should stop too, as they really, really are scared of it
