Paranoid Dog Owner

Apparently I am a paranoid dog owner.... Dog's... "manhood" was red and pussy.  He also kept licking himself.  So I took the day off of work (I also am getting sick) and took him to the vet.

The vet nurse was interesting... he seemed nice, but well... I hate gages. I think its disgusting.  But I am not sure which is worse; ears with gages in them, or ears without gages in them.  It was soooooo disgusting.  The vet nurse/tech had gigantic holes in his ears where the gages used to be.  I had to try to force myself not to stare at his ears.  But like I said, overall he was a nice guy.  Loved my dog. :) Its just his ears reminded me of the song... "Do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro..." And yes, his ears DID wobble...

The verdict at the vet was, apparently, Dog doesn't have any infections, he just is overly licking himself.  The vet said its a circle... manhood itches, then he licks, but overly licks makes it aggravated (think chapped lips) then he licks cuz it hurts but licking makes it more aggravated....Well, you get the picture.

Anyway, the vet gave me ointment... and a "coller of shame."  So, I have to put ointment on his "manhood."  Not that big of a deal, I quickly got over it.

I feel really bad for Dog about the collar of shame... he keeps walking into things, can't walk up stairs (we live on the 3rd floor) and has a very difficult time getting in and out of the car as well as on and off the sofa (he is spoiled).  Oh well, it is a bit amusing for me to watch.  Am I a bad dog owner if I can't help but chuckle when he does something funny in the collar?