Just my .02 but I think the dog just lacks the confidence to cross.the water. When he is on track or going to a bay he is not thinking about the water, all he knows is that there is a pig on the other side. Rough handling ( dragging behind a four wheeler, jerking him in and through the water, throwing him in the water, etc.) of the dog is probably not going to help him, it.will more than likely make it worse. You already said that he will cower down when you go to get him. He is obviously associating the water with something bad happening to him and by doing the things you have tried it will only get worse. Try the squealer and just take your time with him. I know it sucks but if he is.as good as it sounds he will be worth it. No dog is perfect, just consider this his bad habit and work through it.
I guess i made it sound alittle worse than it actually was... I have hooks on my dog rack and i hooked two leads together... I would go at a slow pace and he would walk behind just fine...when i would go through the water he would try to pull back... i gently just pulled him into the water and he came on across..... i praised him at let him know he did good... When i had to wade the creek to get him, i pulled him in after me and got him swimming around me....again i praised him...
Yes, i have gotten extremely angry with him at times, but held back... like you said, i knew it would only make it worse....
I am going to try some one on one with him this weekend.... Thank you for your advice!!!
