I think what Little Creek comments about makes sense. In the past, I've had the luck to hunt a fair amount of pheasant behind two good, solid goldens, but they do not seem to come along with much frequency. There are pitfalls, but if you can get a dog person to select the pup, I think you are better off.
If it were me, I would not take the kids along to help pick a puppy, they will be plenty happy with which ever one shows up. You still have time to lobby them for one of the shorter hair "goldens". When you do get the pup, see above where it's not the worst idea to get going with plenty of birds right away, meaning the kids may not understand shooting pen birds, if not see if you can locate a started dog. Fun times, best of luck.
