Throw me some breed recommendations

 

2shelties

Italian greyhounds...I looked at those...am I correct in assuming they may be too fragile for a house with kids and rowdy dogs?

 

they might be small - but all the one's I've met have been more than capable of holding their own.

I thought corgi when I read your post. they can be barkers... although - so can beagles....

maybe some sort of terrier? 

whippets can jump 6 feet- with no warning, easily.

Mechanical Angel

A Cocker would be good to ya know? :)

Seriously. Patty goes everywhere with me....*whispers* even more places than Apollo does! She's excellent with kids and adults. Very calm, but still interested and not bored. She went to all of my little brothers football games and had a great time just sitting in the grass with us. Apollo and Molson get bored after a while and start either eating grass or chewing on a sticks or looking for something to get into- they're both higher energy. Patty is very content to sit on my lap or next to me for as long as I'm sitting.

However, IME most dogs who are bonded to their people, properly engaged and supervised don't tend to want to escape the yard. I say most because some of the Northern breeds are known for being escape artists - doesn't matter how much they like ya! Of course with breeds or dogs who want to escape, they will find a way to do so unless you supervise them. Over, under or through ;)

We have had a very Dobe-like Dobe mix, an Irish Setter, a Rough Collie, GSDs, a slew of Belgians and I raised a Grey for someone. All of those dogs were more than capable of jumping our 4' fence (the big yard is 4', the small one inside the big yard is slightly under that) but didn't/don't. I trained the Dobe mix and the Collie to jump up to 5' jumps but they still stayed in the 4' yard fence. A Belgian I bred has easily cleared 6' fences multiple times in her life but can be kept in 4' fences at home. She is a small Belgian too - only about 21" at the shoulder. She has only ever jumped fences to get to her owners on the opposite side in strange places.

 So I wouldn't really rule out a breed based only on the fact that you have a 4' fence and X breed is capable of jumping it. Most dogs Beagle sized and beyond are capable of jumping  or climbing a 4' - 6' fence. I have seen toys who were more than capable of scaling 3' xpens, so I imagine they could get over something a foot higher without a problem. If you were to choose only dogs not capable of getting over your fence, you'd need to look mostly at heavy boned, very sedentary and/or dwarfy type breeds. But IMO it isn't so much if they could get out of the fence but if they are a breed motivated to try to escape often and if you are going to be leaving a bored dog unsupervised in the yard for long stretches.

 That's a good point about the fence...my border collie could jump it if he wanted to, but he never has. They spend very little time out there unsupervised. The particular breeder website I looked at says they won't sell to anyone without a 6 ft privacy fence, that's why I wondered, but I'm sure there are other options.

I like spaniels but I got a bit turned off to them because I've had one before who was a big whiner and a submissive/excitement pee-er.

 I have a 4', chain link fence. The PRT can open the gate, climb it, jump it, or dig under it. The IG can flying leap it like it's not there. The Crested can climb it, and did, the day I brought her home.

 

None of them ever escapes. It is a good point, agile, that dogs who are watched and generally satisfied in knowing what's outside the fence aren't generally escapees. Of course, I left Emma in a crate, yesterday morning, and came home to Free Emma. *sigh* She doesn't leave the yard, though, LOL.

2shelties

The particular breeder website I looked at says they won't sell to anyone without a 6 ft privacy fence,

Yup seen that before too. Keep in mind a fence like that isn't that great for keeping folks from leaning over and taking your dogs either. Or feeding them something nasty, or teasing them, etc. Nor does it do much to deter OTHER dogs from jumping IN to your yard

I would likely have issue with a 4' fence with my breed. Being bored or engaged has little to do with a scenthounds drive to track...and wandering is a WELL KNOWN breed trait for other breeds so I would not count on training or consider it a personal statement on your dogs love for you or lack thereof if they dog try to escape...sometimes, just like people the drive to see what's over the next horizon is just THERE. It's IMO the ultimate in self rewarding behavior and not something I'd ever take a chance on. That's just me tho!

 

As far as spaniels go, Tibetan spaniels aren't true spaniels at all and are closer related to pugs and pekingese only they're built a bit more moderately. Papillons are sort of pseudo- spaniels in that they have a lot of spaniel lineage but also most likely have spitz and who knows what else in there. Neither one in my opinion has a typical spaniel personality. Tibbies are a lot more independent and low key whereas paps are a bit ramped up from the other toy spaniels based on my experience.

rwbeagles

I would likely have issue with a 4' fence with my breed. Being bored or engaged has little to do with a scenthounds drive to track...and wandering is a WELL KNOWN breed trait for other breeds so I would not count on training or consider it a personal statement on your dogs love for you or lack thereof if they dog try to escape...sometimes, just like people the drive to see what's over the next horizon is just THERE. It's IMO the ultimate in self rewarding behavior and not something I'd ever take a chance on. That's just me tho!

 

 

 Dogs that set on escaping could just dig under the fence. Supervision is key if you are concerned your dogs might want to leave. We have never had a dog jump into our 4' fences. Even roaming dogs who want to visit when girls are in season quickly go on their way when confronted with my pack of barking dogs LOL. Our neighbor's dog used to slip under the gap in their 6' privacy fence (made a bit bigger by his digging) all the time - lucky we had our 4' chainlink as well or the dog would have ended up in our yard ;) I have also known multiple dogs who have been bitten by neighbor dogs under 6' privacy fences too, so there are downsides to every sort of fencing. If I had a fence jumper or digger, I'd probably just put an IF around the inside perimeter of the yard for that dog.

jennie_c_d

 I have a 4', chain link fence. The PRT can open the gate, climb it, jump it, or dig under it. The IG can flying leap it like it's not there. The Crested can climb it, and did, the day I brought her home.

 LOL the toy dogs I knew who would go over 3' ex pens were all Cresteds! I saw one attempt to climb a 6' kennel run once too but they were caught and stopped (luckily enough - that is waaaay too high for them to be jumping or falling from!).

 As for a Whippet breeder requiring a 6' fence. I doubt you'll find that to be the case across the board.

Whippet Rescue doesn't seem to have any specific fencing requirements and say:

"Do whippets have to have a very high fence?

Most whippets are not jumpers or climbers, but there are always exceptions. A five-foot fence is usually enough, but if you adopt an adult whippet, be sure to ask whether he has escaped fences before. Some do dig, but it's not a common problem."

And this breeder says:

 "Your Whippet must be either leashed or in a securely fenced yard. A 4' fence is usually enough if a Whippet is not a jumper or climber. Some do dig, but it's not too common a problem."  http://www.sunnyknoll.com/whippet_info.html

And here is a thread on a Whippet forum about fences. Everyone seems to have their own opinions on how high a fence should be but several have 4' fences without problems. And most agree that a Whippet who wants to jump a fence can get over a 6' fence. http://www.whippetworld.net/board/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3664&start=0

 I'm not trying to convince you to get a Whippet, just pointing out that your fence shouldn't be the reason you don't get one if you otherwise like the breed.

yes Tibbies are more a Spitz-like, than a Spaniel-like really to me, going by what I researched...that might even be so for Paps, who knows! Cockers do have a known propensity for submissive wetting which is a bummer...both the ones I've known personally have done so. That'd be a deal breaker for me.

rwbeagles

yes Tibbies are more a Spitz-like, than a Spaniel-like really to me, going by what I researched...that might even be so for Paps, who knows! Cockers do have a known propensity for submissive wetting which is a bummer...both the ones I've known personally have done so. That'd be a deal breaker for me.

  Yeah many of the ones I have known do the submissive peeing thing too. It seems more common in girls but I have seen boys do it too.

Paps are different than tibbies. Tibbies have zero spaniel in them, the name is a complete misnomer. I have no idea why they were named spaniels at all. Paps have mostly spaniel in them but likely also have spitz too. It depends on who you talk to, but there's a lot of evidence that poms or other small spitz made their way into the breed even though some people wish to say they're 100% the original toy spaniel. (But then you'd have to believe the erect ears came from nowhere. also double coats and solid pomeranian colors were added into the breed then had to be specifically written out of the standard at the same exact time the erect ears showed up. It makes you wonder at least...) So they're a kind of blend of the two in a way. Anyways I digress. Rose used to do the submissive peeing thing when we first got her, but she came from some bad circumstances and once her confidence was up, it stopped completely.

My sister has a son who is allergic to most dogs.  She got a standard poodle which caused no reaction in my nephew.  The standard was such a great dog that they added another one to their home.  They are indoor dogs most of the time as well.

You know what you really want is a 40# mixed breed, about 2 years old out of a foster home with a behavior report.  Thire are plenty to choose from.