I like the idea of a small female shorthair. My male is 55lbs, he's a loving and comical dog with my 4 year old daughter, a real family dog. In the field he is a driven machine and adapted well to a variety of bird species (grouse, woodcock, pheasant, chukar, quail). He was very easy to train, basically trained himself and is a natural retriever too.

Provided you get one from a good breeder I don't think you can go wrong witha GSP. 2nd choice would be the Brittany.