I like the continetal breeds. The German dogs. They are generally good pointers, decent retrievers and for the most part non shedders. They do not run as big as english pointers as a rule and tend to be solid retrievers. As long as they are kept in the house, they are not barkers, chewers, or diggers. They are not incessant pests like labs can be always wanting to play and are usually quite content to simply lay at your feet. I will say that you need to be careful as to your bloodlines as some of the FT All Age type dogs can just be crazy.

I used to be a lab person, but modern field trail labs are too hot for my tastes. Burning a dog constantly with the e-collar is not my idea of fun. I would like to see them start to breed more labs with more co-operation and maybe less drive. I think you could look to MH or UKC type dogs in the past, but the last tests I have attended seemed to be more about judges' ego and less about what a good dog should be able to do.