Ron,
I'm a little familiar with the terrain in Northern California, so I have some idea of your needs.
One important thing to consider in the type of terrain and that you mention, tall grass and burrs, is stamina. I've hunted in the heavy stuff with both Brittanies (a friend's) and small Shorthairs (mine). The Shorthair was still going strong long after the Brittanies were just slogging along. Could have easily been an individual dog difference, but I'd tend to believe that the longer legged and leaner body of the Shorthair helped give it that additional stamina. Also, as touched on earlier, burrs love Brittanies while shorthairs are basically immune. At worst you might have one or two to easily pick off a Shorthair.
Whichever direction you go, make sure that the breeder is focused on Hunting dogs. Good luck.
