I've heard and researched on the Brittany. It seems to fit that description pretty well. I'm considering one myself.

Labrador (any color) will fill the bill. Make sure it is out of hunting stock. I am starting a new puppy out of a litter that my black female had in May and she made her first water retrieve yesterday at age 78 days.

There is a breed (or sub-breed) of Labradors in development at present that have a more highly evolved pointing instinct than the others. That may be just what you are looking for.

RES1956, I have to bow down to you on pheasants because I do not have any in my area to hunt for so I will trust your knowledge on that subject. I have had a lab that did do a type of point at quail, but it was not like the type of point that my fathers bird dogs did back in my childhood. I remember him breeding bird dogs just for pointing and retrieving quail and doves. They were also trained to flush after they had pointed and were given a command. I recommended the lab above because of the good experiences I had with mine and the fact that once I got her past the puppy stage, she was a good house broken pet also. She was well behaved in the house and got along very good with my children. But she was still a good hunting dog. She would retrieve a brick from the bottom of a swimming pool for the kids or a duck from the muddy marsh for me. She would ride in the cab of my truck with me every where I went. She was in effect a member of the family and got treated as such. I never tried to replace her after her passing, but my kids each have a lab for my grandchildren today.

Lab they are very friendly and make great hunting dogs.

Labs ARE good, but I am partial to English setters.

My younger lab will point the birds if they'll hold. Older lab will honor her point. Both hardly ever bark (Opal literally never barks unless she's playing or wants in). They are great hunting pheasants. I keep them around twenty yards and use a full choke. A dynamite combination. They have a wonderful disposition. Opal is a care-free character and Pearl is deeply affectionate.

Setters and pointers are runners. A good fenced yard or even a kennel is a necessity with them. My labs live in the home. The only reason the back yard was fenced was to keep our toddlers from wandering away. The dogs will never leave the yard without us. Most labs, even though they are sweethearts still retain enough loyalty to be good for protecting home and family from intrusion.

I'm raising my first Brittany pup right now (actually a French Brittany - note they are officially not called spaniels anymore). She has a TON of personality and is a bit more energetic than lab pups (well, it's been a while since I had a lab pup, but I think she has more energy). Even though little Coral is technically a setter, she's retrieving like crazy already. And she doesn't mind the water at all (has web feet, a characteristic of the French breed). She'll only get about 35-40 lbs and not terribly hairy (bit longer hair than labs but do not have the dual layer coat). They are supposed to work quite close in the field and I like that idea. And she is a real beauty! A chick magnet for sure, but I think she's more interested in them right now than I am. The Brittany is small enough to make a very nice house dog and their beauty and personality would make them quite attractive to a spouse who might not be particularly keen on acquiring a hunting dog.

Brittany spanial for laborador retriever.

Check out my profile photo of my two labs together on their bed. That pretty much says it all for that breed of dog!

Brittany Spaniel, can't beat em. My dad's was by his side for 17 years, and I have raised my four year old since he was a pup. Beautiful field dogs, only bark at strangers and playful as a teddy bear.

BTW Santa,
When I had to put down my Delilah (yellow female) in 2000, it was the worst day of my life. A constant companion and master hunter who had more frequent flyer miles than most businessmen, we traveled to 3 Canadian provinces and 5 midwest and west states to chase our passion during her life. It was a while before I got another dog, but I'm glad I did. Dove/duck hunting without a dog is like sex without orgasm. Pheasant hunting without a Lab is out of the question.
Getcha a dog, you will be glad you did,
Robert

Well, Robert, we tried! By the way, the three month old Brittany pup has suddenly blown up with spots all over. Thought she might as her foot pads and bare skin on her belly were quite freckled. Most of the new spots are black on white but some nice rust colored ones thrown in to boot. Coral just gets prettier every day. Wish I could take a few shots of whatever she's been drinking! If these bags under my eyes get any worse I'll have to tie them up to keep from tripping.

OT and RES1956, I thank you both for thinking about me. I do not hunt ducks anymore because of health. I do love dogs and have have many breeds over the years. But I personally had just one dual purpose hunting/retriever dog. I was so attached to her that she could not be replaced. She served me faithfully for 18 years. At this point in life though I have my hands too full already to take on a new dog. My neighbor has already offered to give me her lab because it seems to like me better than her. So even though I do not own a lab, I spend too much time with them already.

Black lab for the wide variety of game and friendhip you mention. You don't see many Brittanys in the icey waters of November outswimming honkers all day. Labs don't point as well but they get the job done. Where I hunt, you have to run with them for pheasants or the pheasants will run ahead and jump out of range. We get quite a chuckle out of seeing guys waiting for the dogs to point while the pheasants are all jumping 200 yards away. Pointing is good for quail but they sit so tight that the lab will be within 2 feet of them when they jump and you can tell by their behavior that the are on one. Labs will point but not as pretty as spaniels. My whole family uses nothing but labs for all these types of game.

Only 2 males let, Both great looking dogs and been fetching since 6 weeks old, Both are black.

I only hunt the rough stuff with my dogs - brush coulees, swamps, sagebrush, wind breaks (occassionally), and canals. I let the labs range and they stay fairly close. If they get on a scent I can tell and usually a loud "hup" will get them to wait for me. If they see the bird and it runs, well no stopping them then. Pearl will usually lose it again in short order but it is very rare that they can shake Opal. Anyway, in those situations one has to be in shape. Perhaps if I'd used an e-collar I could get them to wait on a runner. If the pheasants are spooky, labs work about as good as any pointer/setter. The birds will make for the thick stuff. A pointer down in that garbage just goes on point and you have to get down in there and kick the bird out. That can be tough shooting. My labs won't get out of sight at any time, runner or not. So as flushers they work very well in that situation. Within sight usually means twenty to thirty yards. When they get hot I just try to keep myself in places open enough to get a shot. And as often or not I do. Pheasants usually will try to climb up out of and then fly over the bad stuff. Again, the full or modified choke works best for pheasants and labs. A modified is often the best ticket for steel shot and warterfowl too. By the way, I have found that steel shot works dandy for pheasants. Gives that old full bore of mine a more scattered pattern. Have to use steel when hunting federal bird refuges, no matter what birds you're hunting.