Cattle Dog mix afraid of going outside with my husband

Question
A little over two months ago, my husband and I adopted a cattle dog mix
who had been in a shelter over a year.  We decided on an invisible fence to
allow her room to run, since she is a herding dog.  However, the fence
traumatized her more than anything and even gave her Porch Syndrome for
while.  One of the times she got shocked she was with my husband, and now
she associates that fear with being outside with him.  She won't go outside
alone with him, even now that we have a real fence and she doesn't need a
leash.  He's tried getting her to go outside with treats, but she's too smart
and knows what he's doing.  Unless i'm there calling her outside, she won't go
. She'll even avoid him putting on the leash.  The strange thing is, she doesn't
exhibit any fear with him normally--she's happy when he comes home,
obeys his commands, and likes to play with him. How do we help her
overcome her fear of being outside alone with my husband?  When i'm there,
she's fine, but take me away, and the situation is totally different! She
definitely associates me with being safe outside and my husband with fear of
being outside.  What can we do to help her? Thanks! P.S.-She has not shown
any fear aggression at all--just avoidance.

Answer
HERE IS ONE GOOD REASON I ALWAYS, ALWAYS ADVISE AVOIDING ELECTRIC FENCES! AMONG MANY OTHERS!

You have a smart breed mix (Cattle Dog is bred for independent guarding and herding).  She has a strong conditioned fear response to your husband's presence when she is outdoors (as you know!)  First, I have no idea how long this problem has existed.  It will take several weeks (if not longer) for the conditioned response to begin to extinguish.  The more your husband attempts to coerce her outdoors, the stronger her fear will become; it's self perpetuating.  He must totally abandon any effort at all at attempting to obtain her cooperation in regard to going outdoors, with him, while he is alone with her and not going out with her, or is in any way associated with her going out.  Rather than attempt to rehabilitate this problem by coercion, he should instead be solidifying her trust and affiliation INDOORS.  Being a very smart breed, the Cattle Dog (and their first and second generation mix) are a natural for positive reinforcement training.  What they are NOT is a strong bonding breed, meaning the genetic predisposition for forming "pack structure" is not as much a motivating influence as it might be for other breeds.  If your husband interacts with her in a fun, rewarding and teaching behavior, such as would occur with positive reinforcement training (MINUS the clicker, do NOT use one), she will begin to bond closely with him; her trust will increase; her sense of security around him will increase.  Read about this training (Karen Pryor, Patricia McConnell, Ph.D.) and let your husband "play/teach" this dog for a few weeks.  The fear response might self extinguish.  If it does not, repost and we'll tackle it.