I don't just "TRY" antibiotics. I am a nurse and I have to deal with RESISTANCE to them all the time. Do you know WHY there is resistance??? Because people use antibiotics incorrectly,ie. using them when there is no indication,using non susceptible antibiotics when a culture is warranted, using the incorrect dose, incomplete dose,etc. Antibiotics are powerful drugs ,their indiscriminate use does have effects far and wide, you just may not see them right away or haven't come up against them yet.
And yes she did have symptoms, 2 misses and a discharge. All bitches have E.Coli in their vaginal tract,as well as Mycoplasma and quite a few others, it's when there is an OVERGROWTH of bacteria there is a problem that can prevent conception,the most common according to my repro vet. In the time it takes to get culture results returned and the bitch treated correctly it would be right on target for her heat cycle, and by treating correctly there isn't going to be return of overgrowth.
If your bitch had a discharge she needed a culture. Just so you know, I didn't hold my vet at gunpoint and demand antibiotics, they were given to me. I asked for a culture and the vet explained to me why a culture with a closed cervix wouldn't yield useful information. My bitch didn't have any physical symptoms or any medical reason for 2 misses.
To imply that I incorrectly used antibiotics is wrong. "People" can't get the antibiotics I mentioned without the help of a licensed professional. My vet has much more experience and knowledge than I will ever have and when he suggested I try the antibiotic without a culture I trusted his judgment. It's not much different than getting a broad spectrum antibiotic for a severe UTI. Most of the time the broad spectrum antibiotic works but sometimes it doesn't. It's not ideal but medical professionals use their knowledge and experience to make that call. 10 days on Ciprofloxacin is pretty benign especially since my bitch had never had any antibiotics her whole life prior to that.
Since you are a nurse I'm surprised you don't know that an overgrowth of normal flora can return even if the treatment was "correct", all it takes is the same conditions that caused the overgrowth (if you even know) and some time. I hope your bitch's heat cycle comes quickly after treatment and she takes. Good luck.
