From my experience the dog is a little shit when it comes to bringing them back. They both hunt and flush very well but on the retrieve the bitch is brilliant. She's been out a few times (only being 10 months old..) she's got a good engine and runs all day. I'd recommend a bitch but that's just from my own experience and talking to other guns when out and about.
They'll retrieve anything though, foxes, rabbits, pheasants etc, all fair game. Just a bit headstrong sometimes. Mine have a lot of FTCH in their history but run into the rough like there's no tomorrow, i think you've got to get th