My dogs live in the house, and are exercised outside of the garden twice a day. However, they love the garden, and in the warm weather when we have the doors open, they spend hours outside just watching the birds etc. I have done home checks for Rescue myself, and personally, I would not consider a home without an enclosed garden. It is a bit too late if the children let you know the dog has 'legged it', as you would possibly not catch it, and are they really going to be expected to watch the dog when they are outside playing, I think not.