Charlie:

The down side to playing a reso in standard guitar tuning is that there are limited major chords that you can play with a straight bar. (the steel thing you hold in your hand and slide along the strings to alter their vibrating length). Almost all reso tunings are some variant of an open tuning usually E or G (G is the most common, GBDGBD two G major triads with the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th strings being the same as standard guitar tuning) Other variants include 6 or 9 chords, which are more commonly used on 7 or 8 string instruments.

The most glaring difference between the two styles of playing and the biggest impediment to using the same guitar for both styles is that reso players (lap style) raise the strings significantly by using a nut extension, to avoid bar noise on the frets when sliding. Slightly more than 1/4" is considered standard. You can surmise that pretty much eliminates any possibility of fretting the strings.

Check out www.beardguitars.com and www.resoguit.com for more info.

BTW, the term "dobro" has pretty much been replaced by "reso" for all instruments except actual Dobros, which are manufactured by Gibson. Gibson is highly protective of it's copyright and the use of the term "dobro" in the generic sense.