With Daisy and now Prince who both prize Play above Food any time, I use the toys as a reward.
So when they bring the toy back, the reward is a tuggy game or another throw of the ball.
Using toys slows your training down - but it does make the whole process very rewarding for the dog, and also teaches them to obey while excited - not a bad thing .
You could try having more than one toy (I don`t because my dogs get wildly over excited and snatch but all dogs are different). Or you could have a `special` toy for those emergency moments?
When my dogs go deaf in training I get really boring. I walk off or sit and read till they realise that the fun stops when they get contrary.