Thank you all for your responses. They were great.
I never meant to imply that a GSP wouldn't make a good family pet, I know they do. I was just curious as to which dog between the two, you all thought would make a "better" pet during the offseason.
Before narrowing my choice down to these two dogs, I also looked into the Brittanies (as some of you suggested), the Munsterlanders, PP's, GWP's, English Setters, Labs, English Pointers, and a few others. I decided I wanted one of the versitile breeds, so that eliminated a few in the list. I was considering the Brittany for a while, but, to me, there's just something about the look of an athletic, short-haired, pointing dog that I like. Superficial? maybe, but it's a preference, I can't help it. The grooming issue also enforces that preference.
I always read about how all of your dogs perform in the field, which makes sense, this is a hunting forum, and I just wanted to hear what some of those dogs (with a focus on the Viz and the GSP) are like when you're not hunting.
Thanks again. More comments are welcomed.

I see that most of the reply's were from GSP owners. I own a 7 YO Vizsla male, He is my buddy and loves to hunt. I think he might be in the back yard looking for some qauil that have roosted tonight. He loves his job. But he will lay down in the house if that is what I ask of him and stay right there. He is not fixed by the way. He will spend hours in the field and never complaine. I think that you have to be careful no matter what breed you chose. Good Luck

I guess it won't hurt to put in one more vote of confidence for the GSP. Mine are indeed family members, and while they love to hunt, it's not something they take off and do as soon as I let them out of the kennel. They will come give affection if you ask, but they never beg for it. They are great around my kids (I've hooked them up to the Red Flyer wagon and let them pull the kids when Mom and I took the family for a walk). I haven't taken these fishing, but I did take their old man a few times. He just sat and watched or took a nap. Several posters have mentioned breeding, and I agree that is important. I've seen some GSP's that were pretty wired.

I own 2 GSP's and they are total opposites personality wise and hunting wise. Like you stated, my older GSP would rather hunt than eat ONLY when he's hunting.....he's all business when he know we're looking for birds. But, he was raised as a house dog and when we're not hunting, he worships me! He's still bull headed but is a GREAT companion.

My younger GSP is really cool mannered and lazy, to be quite frank. He's a great great hunter when he knows we're lookin for birds but my honest opinion about him is that he would rather lay around and be a house pet. I think he gets this from his sire b/c the breeder said that the sire was strictly a house dog and "owned" the couch. This dog looks identical his sire and I think he got his manurisms from him.

However, at the same time, my dad has had GSP's in the past that were not sociable at all. I could be wrong, but I think it depends a lot on the sire and damn of the pups as to how they are around people. Further more, even if the sire and damn are not socialable, I think that if you raise your pup around a family and friends that they can become socialable. I love GSP's (obviously) but I think a lot has to do with which sire and damn they come from and how you raise them. Just my $.02

I didn't see it on your list but did you check out Weimaraners? I couldn't be happier with mine. Just a great dog - incredible nose, great point, loves to retrieve, and a quirky personality to boot. He hunts within about 30 yds and regularly checks with me for direction. They have a reputation for getting really attached to their owners and therefore being very destructive when nobody is around. I think that comes down to the owner, though. I took the necessary time to train him and I have two cats to keep him company during the day so it hasn't been a problem for me. They crave attention, too, which is something you have to get used to. I read on uplandbirddog.com that having one is similar to having a child, and the relationship you develop is different than with any other dog, and I have found that to be true. Might be worth a look...

-aaron

The kid down the street got a Braque from his grandpa who raises them. She was a good looking dog and a natural pointer, but was pretty high strung. They ended up sending her back to grandpa cuz she was too much for the boy to handle for his first dog. His grandpa says they are the best dogs ever. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.