These discussions are similar to "Maryann or Ginger?"
In all honesty, I have not read all of the posts. I glanced through most of them. You are looking for a smaller breed, a good family pet, and outstanding hunting ability. You mention a focus on Quail, with some duck hunting. I think you also mentioned coat maintenance.
A French Brittany may fill the bill. I also agree with another poster who mentioned the Small Munsterlander. If you want or prefer a pointing breed, I would highly recommend you find one with a strong testing background through NAVHDA, the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association.
You also mention the Golden Retriever and Welsh Springer Spaniel. Both beautiful breeds. However, you will really need to dig deep and search hard for a true, hunting breeder. Sadly, these dogs have been taken over somewhat by the show people, whose chief focus is conformation, rather than hunting. Beware the breeder who simply slaps an AKC Junior Hunter title on their dogs and claim that they hunt. In the Goldens, look for strong testing in either NAHRA or HRC. When I was looking for a pup, I looked into the Welsh SS. I could not find one hunting kennel. In fact, some breeders did not want to sell me one when I mentioned using the pup for hunting.
You may want to consider an American Water Spaniel or perhaps a Boykin. They are small, have lots of hunting ability, and are well behaved in the home. I ended up getting an AWS and could not be more pleased. He weighs in at 40 pounds. And, I have shot more wild quail over him than any other breed. Just my opinion. Good luck and try not to let emotion overide logic. Hope this helped.
Kind regards,
