l'll have to agree with blackliner on this one! Go with the Brittany. Brittanys are great close ranging dogs.

As for the birds - There aren't many birds where I live in Missouri, so I use what birds are there, and I have also bought pen-raised Chukar, which work real well for training. Watch out for the pen-raised Quail, no matter what they say, they most likely won't fly very well. The last thing you want is a (pointing) dog that thinks he can catch every bird.

Owning a bird dog is a great experience. But it can be a lot of work!