Tonk... Those arguements I can agree with. Brits do tend to be softer then GSP's. Some people don't like training them becaus of that reason. But I also think they aim to please their owner more then a GSP. And for that reason you don't need to talk harshley to them. At least you don't with my dogs... I don't have a problem cleaning them either since my Brits have relatively short hair and I keep them trimmed. Cleaning them is very easy.
As far as Brits shying away when things get tough, we are just going to have to agree to disagree. Every Brit I have seen goes like hell. Ive seen Brits dive into heavy briar patches and watched as the larger GSP's stoped. The brits came out the other side still going like hell and the GSP's went around. One of my pups went through barbed wire that was covered up and cut the hell out of herself. Problem was I couldn't get her to stop so I could clean her up. I also never saw them slow down when we used to hunt pheasants in the snow of Eastern WA. Ive hunted when temps hit the single digits and everyone wanted to quit except for the dogs. They had no problem with the temps. However, a brit most likely won't head into icy cold water like a GSP will. I think Brits are a hell of a lot tougher then people give them credit for.
Britts and GSP's are affectionate dogs, and that is the reason GSP's would probably be my second choice in a pointing dog. As far as pointers dominating quail hunting. Well....... Maybe. I now live in GA and there is a ton of quail hunting down here (albeit a lot of released plantation birds). Ever since Buddy dominated NSTRA you are starting to see a few more Brits and GSP's. Which IMO is a good thing, since I'm not a fan of EP's or ES's.
