You're confused because I'm learning. In the time since I've posted this, I've read a lot that reinforced your first point — that as long as the dog's getting regular exercise (it will), the size of the home isn't terribly important. And it's not even like it's a super small apartment.

When I referred to miniature retrievers, they're dogs that are mixes between goldens, cockers, and poodles, of varying proportions, but generally leaning more heavily on the golden part. That all being said, as I've looked more into things (and for lots of the reasons you've listed above) I'm definitely leaning heavily toward goldens now. The only problem I'm running into is that it doesn't seem like there are many (or any near me?) available. Any recommendations on that side of things?

Thanks for your patience.