It's about a week after breeding and I saw a tiny bit of light yellow discharge from my girl this morning. Do you think that is a sign of a problem, or a sign that she did indeed conceive?

I would take her in to your vet for a check plus have a culture sent off. we have had this twice, the 1st time was post breeding about 10 days, it proved to be Mycoplasma, the second time post breeding about 14 days, this time it was E-coli. In both cases due to some prompt aggressive action by our vets we had litters. On the second case we feel we did lose 2-3 puppies because she ended up with a bloody discharge about a week after the diagnoses. Her 7 puppies were confirmed by ultrasound on day 25, but there was 5 in one horn, 2 in the other.
You have nothing to lose by checking except a few bucks versus the possibly the chance of losing the litter.

Gregg, What antibiotic did your vet prescribe for the Mycoplasma and the e-coli ?

Baytril both times. On the Mycoplasma it was 21 days worth, E-coli 14 days.

Thank you Gregg. Was it the 136mg Baytril tabs or a higher dosage ?

It was two capsules at 68mg, 136mg total.

Please be careful putting your bitches on very potent antibiotics prophylactically. We are creating "super bacterias" by doing this. It makes me nervous when people ask for doseage information on the internet without consulting a veterinarian.
I'm all for giving the right antibiotic for the right bacteria, but that takes a guarded culture and a sensitivity, as the poster stated he did. And the dose for his bitch may not be the correct dose for yours.
Baytril is very broad-spectrum and you are wiping out everything under the sun, good and bad bacteria; it is to be used for bacteria that are resistent to everything else.
Better to test first, and use a gentler treatment like doxycycline, and/or douching if the bacteria is cultured to be sensitive to that.

I would never use Baytril on a pregnant bitch past day 16/17...bad for pups

My vet doesn't even approve of it for during breedings.

Doxy is not recommended for pregnant bitches due to yellowing of the teeth of the babies. Pre-breeding it is a good anti-biotic.....if......as you said the culture suggests it.
I certainly agree with the rest of your post however on a newly pregnant bitch, a check under a microscope by a competent vet can tell if indeed there is bacteria present and with the litter at risk, the vet is most likely to prescribe a broad spectrum antibiotic until the results of the culture come back. Normally a culture can take up to 10-14 days, especially if Mycoplasma is the possible suspicious culprit. On Mycoplasma for a pregnant bitch, Baytril is about the only choice.
Please, on issues like this, see your repro vet, DO NOT diagnose your girl yourself!

Of course you always need to follow the directions of your vet but.........
You might want to do some research on this yourself and maybe question his position.
http://www.baytril.com/13/Safety_and_Toxicology.htm
And I quote:
"Common to all quinolones is that they may produce cartilage lesions in weight-bearing joints of growing dogs. Safety studies have shown that puppies between 1 and 4 weeks of age tolerated treatment with Baytril for up to 10 days at maximum doses of 25 mg/kg b.w. without showing adverse effects. In young dogs above 6 weeks of age, however, cartilage was affected depending on the dose and duration of Baytril administration. By contrast, young cats dosed with Baytril at maximum doses of 25 mg/kg b.w. for up to 30 days did not develop cartilage lesions. Thus, as a matter of precaution, all growing dogs were excluded from treatment. However, no evidence exists that Baytril treatment of pregnant or nursing dogs would have a negative influence on the cartilage development of the offspring."

And if the bitch has mycoplasma or e*coli Linda what would your vet feel was okay during early pregnancy?If untreated is it possible that the litter could be lost , reabsorbed and the bitch become sterile? I am not trying to play on-line vet , curious how some vets would handle a severe infection such as mycoplasma. TIA.

Just a note of reply on this one statement:

"I'm all for giving the right antibiotic for the right bacteria, but that takes a guarded culture and a sensitivity,"

A simple Q-tip is all that is needed to collect for a culture when there is a discharge as the original poster discribed, if an infection is suspected by the vet, they should make their "best guess" for an antibiotic until the results of the culture come back.

I was simply comparing what was prescribed for Gregg's girl and comparing it to what my girl (vet prescribed)was put on for an e-coli infection, which was exactly the same antibiotic and dosage.

Actually, I'm real curious about the mycoplasma. There is only one antibiotic on the market available for getting rid of that particular bug in cattle. In fact, if you don't catch it early enough, even that doesn't work. No other common antibiotic (penicillin and it's derivitives along with most other antibiotics) cures it. In fact, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, which is contagious, most animals are not kept as breeding stock.

If there is something in companion animal medicine that cures it, that's pretty impressive. It would be interesting to hear from some of the vets on the forum about this.

Sue

You're right on the guarded culture, Gregg...in my late-night stupor (no, no wine last night!) I was thinking the bitch was being bred, not actually pregnant. So right again on the discoloration of the teeth with doxy.
Baytril is a judgement call on the part of a vet, and may not be worth the risk for some people. I knew a vet years ago who gave Baytril to a 4-month old puppy with severe pneumonia who would have died if he did not get it as it was the only thing the bacteria was sensitive to. He took a chance, informed the owners and made them sign a waiver, and the puppy improved, and lived a normal healthy life with no joint problems.
The message here is still: see your vet before breeding for a guarded culture if you've had issues with infection in the past, and if you run into a funky discharge after breeding. Be conservative with the antibiotics you give, unless it's a "must-give" situation with an antibiotic specifically sensitive to that bacteria.
I am always impressed with the knowledge and ethics of people on this forum. Sharing information responsibly and in a positive way is the best of human nature! Love that!
And I don't mind being corrected when my brain is not functioning!

I agree with everything you said this time Robin, very good post!

One added note, when you have an issue on reproduction, either pre or post breeding, PLEASE discuss it with a vet that specializes in reproduction, not you regular vet as most really have very limited reproduction knowledge.(unless they are willing to consult with one concerning your issue) Honestly most experienced breeders know far more than a regular vet concerning this particular thing. We are blessed, even though our repro vet is almost three hours away, she is as close as a phone call and our local vet does not hesitate consulting with her on any issue we might have.

Well I'm not a "cow guy" but they used to use Chloramphenicol in cattle for Mycoplasma until they banned the use due to the risk of passing through to humans causing blood clotting issues (the lack of). Many years ago it was used in dogs for the same purpose.