nasty neighbor dogs question

Question
Hi there,

My husband and I just bought our first house and are interested in getting a meduim sized dog (possibly a lab). The only problem right now is that our neighbors have four unruly dogs in a tiny yard next door, and there is only a chain link fence seperating our yard from theirs. These dogs bark at everything! we can't even have a peaceful time out on our porch (which has a privacy fence) if they are outside. Their owner deals with it by yelling at them to get inside... not teaching them to be quiet.
Our yard is fenced, and it is a nice size for a medium sized dog. We also have a large park two blocks away. Everything seems perfect for us getting a dog except that we are afraid that if we do get one, it is going to learn all of the bad habits of the dogs next door. We really want a well behaved dog, and are willing to put in the time and effort to train it. Is there a good way to train the dog to ignore the neighbors? We want to get a younger dog (maybe a puppy) But are we just asking for trouble here?
Any help and advice you can give is very appreciated.

Thank you!

Answer
Not every problem has a good solution.  I can help you housebreak a puppy, keep a Lab from shredding your house, teach it not to bite, etc.; but I am not sure I can help with this.  Part of the solution is to keep the dog in the house with you as much as possible, and never leave it out when you aren't around.  Still, it would be nice to be able to go out with it and throw sticks for it to fetch without a pack of baying hounds distracting you.  Also, if you are housebreaking a puppy, you need to go out with it, and barking dogs again are a distraction from the task at hand.  

Most Labs aren't problem barkers, but they could be a bad example.  You may or may not be able to shush him up.  You may be forced to bring him in when he would rather stay out.  Likely my dogs are disgusted with me the way I respond to all their barks as a request to come in.  

A solid board fence on that side might help or be an expensive waste.