I'm hoping for a little advice as while a lot of my family have dogs, I've never actually had one myself. We're considering getting a rescue dog, but I need some pointers to which breed would be best. It's me and dh, 12 yo dd, 7yo ds1 and almost 4 yo ds2. Ds1 has asd. I'm lucky enough to be a sahm so could be with the dog all day to settle them in. We'd like a dog so the children can experience growing up with a pet, but also to help us get a bit more active, ds is definitely calmer when he has lots of exercise. A big consideration is ds with asd, though he actually loves the dogs we know, is far happier in their company than most people tbh. Those are on the whole quite small dogs, terriers mostly. There's the added complication that I seem to be quite allergic to some dogs, so I've been advised to get a non shedding one. I met a dog while we were out walking that was just beautiful, the owner told me he was a King Charles spaniel and bichon frise cross, that he was placid and non shedding. I've been looking those kind of dogs as a possibility. Also to ask a very stupid question, is there any real reason to choose a boy or a girl?