Always like to hear the good news!
Just for your info, if you notice a tiny black triangle next to a tiny x, in the top-right corner area of the dialog, those are the buttons that control the dialog while it's in the docking area. The tiny triangle is the button which "minimizes" to the right. The tiny x closes the dialog. (I think the triangle is supposed to be something like an arrow, except that it points the wrong way. One of these days I'll remember to make a bug report, to ask for it to be turned around
)
To get the dialogs "minimized" below, that's controlled in a different way, which is even harder to describe than it is to actually control. I actually don't understand it very well, but I think I made a video for someone a year or 2 ago. I could try and search it out, if you like (or maybe just make a new one) if you're interested.
Also, I've recently found out it's possible to have just the icon for the dialog over on the right, rather than the sideways text. If you want to change that, it's in Inkscape Preferences > Interface > Dockbar style.