I have 11.5 and 8 year old German Shepherds. (Sydney and Raven). Syd was my dog before I met my husband and I invested a lot of training in her at TOPS in Grayslake. She's my girl and is a well behaved, dedicated family dog. She isn't good with other dogs and strangers and I'm very cautious with her around others. Very. After I met my DH I wanted a Black Shepherd, so we got Raven. She's the sweetest dog in the world. She's had training but not as extensive as Syd. Raven didn't really enjoy the training like Sydney did. Although a sweetheart, Raven's a house-wrecker. She took forever to house-train and still will cause trouble getting into things. But, her personality is so great that it offsets the badness in her - most days. Lol.
Ok, I say that so you know that I LOVE dogs. Our dogs were our life and we used to spend so much time with them. Then I got pregnant and had our first son (2.5 years old). All of a sudden the dog hair, smells (all dogs stink) and dirt started really, really getting to me. Here I was trying to keep up with my son, work full-time, run a house and then there were the dogs. It's harder when you have kids to take care of dogs.
My sons LOVE the dogs and the dogs are good with them. I think that it's great for kids to grow up with animals and it teaches them so much - even at a young age. But, it IS a lot of work. I vacuum every single day in one way or another (I did get a Roomba and it helps a lot!). This time of the year it is even harder because the ground is SO muddy. When they come in, it's a mess.
As for having a fenced yard...we have one, too. But we soon realized that although it's great for the dogs to run around - picking up poop in the WHOLE yard is a pain. And I didn't want to risk my son stepping or falling in a pile. So, we built an area for the dogs to be in to do their business. We line it with straw so it helps with the mud.
Personally, I'd rather have a dog when my boys were a little bit older so they could have an active part in caring for and playing with their pet. Once our dogs pass away, we'll probably wait to get another one when the boys can have a part in it. I know that no matter what age the kids are, the responsibility of the dog will fall on DH and I. But at this point it's just too much with the kids and the dogs.
That's just my opinon. I hope I don't come off as a lazy-butt. I'm not. I just wish I could spend less time brushing, cleaning up, feeding, playing with my dogs and more time with my boys. :)
Good luck to you.