submissive or dominance?

Question
We adopted a purebred Cocker on Wednesday. I researched care of the bread and learned about ear cleaning. I tried to clean his (Milo) ears but he seemed reluctant, he never offered to bite but he was uncomfortable. I thought since I was trying to bond with him that having someone else clean his ears the first time might work out better, so I contacted the groomer. I took him to the groom, he barked and was unhappy about the groomer picking him up (he allows others in our household to pick him up readily and he'd never been to this groomer before). She continued to pick him up and he seemed okay while she cut the hair underneath his ears and then cleaned them. The groomer said Milo had ear infections, so I went right to a walk in vet. Milo was very nervous at the vet and salivating quite a bit. When we were called back he would not cooperate with the vet and was finally musled while his ears were cleaned with long q-tips. We waited in the waiting area and could hear him crying (it broke my heart). Upon returning to the room the vet said Milo had double ear infections and a staph infection on his body. The vet said we also may have a dominance problem because of how he behaved.
My question is this: Since he vet is not a behaviorist how much stock should I put into this evaluation? Milo has been extremely kind and loving despite having painful ear infections and itchy skin. I am his 3rd owner in his 20 month life, his initial owners became unable to care for him due to medical issues of their own, and the lady I got him from thought he was having anxiety due to being crated all day when she had to go back to work and wanted a home where Milo would receive more attention. All the pets I have ever had (4 dogs and 4 cats in my lifetime) have always shown a level of unhappiness while at the vet. With is in mind, should I be concerned with the vets comment?

Answer
First of all - no, that vet is obviously not a behaviorist and Milo is just anxious.  Being nervous is a far cry from dominance so he just doesn't know what he's talking about.

Now..what are you giving for this staph infection & ear problem?  I'd strongly advise ordering some Zymox Cleaner AND their ear meds.  Hopefully this vet didn't prescribe a steroid?

Cassie, if you'd like to write me directly I think I can give you some help with Milo.   DeeBeck7765@aol.com
Delores