your wife feels neglected. buy her some khorns. home projects? not my specialty. as far as the driving, its my way or the highway. gas, grass, or ***. no rides for free.
I can help with the dog. labs come pre-programmed to only eat 1 of your socks. they will never select a pair. there is no solution to this glitch. however, there is a solution to the sock eating issue. the next time you catch the little bastard sneaking off with one of your goldtoes, the first move is to shame the animal. remove the sock from the suspect's cake hole, and beat it about the head and neck with the evidence. then, tie the sock around the animals collar. leave the sock on the canine's collar for at least 48 hours. every time you see the dogface, make sure you re-enforce your point. ex. "look at you, you bad dog" "you baby gorrilla" "look at what you made me do" etc. etc.
If this doesent cure or curb the thievery, I suggest buying or adopting another canine. the senior family pet will be so jeleous, that it will graduate to eating shoes. problem solved. next?