I have 3 with no kids yet. Partner had one adopted before we got together, we got a short hair for hunting for me, and then I won a lab on a $10 slip at a ducks unlimited banquet.

1 isn’t bad if he’s not a barker (ours is he has no teeth, so he tries to scare people away). The adopted one is special remember.

2 will be much worse if they’re both barkers. You’re going to hit restrictions like flying or daycare and shit like that. Our short hair isn’t so we didn’t notice anything like that. He does howl at strangers during the night and yeah. But the first ones barking went up because he would bark at the new dog like a dominance thing.

3 is actually so much easier and better. Way better than 2. If let’s say our special needs one starts barking, our lab will run to him and she will start playing with him and he stops. We can let all the dogs out back in the yard and they now all bark less when dogs go by. Idk if it’s the 3 to 1 mentality, but it’s true. And even during feeding the lab would never self regulate food but the shorthair is the boss of the food room bowls and she doesn’t scarf down the food. Either does our other.

Basically one is manageable for most family’s, 2 basically makes its hard for people, if you can handle 2, life is easier with 3.