[BMDLuver]

When a dog is so young it always makes it far more difficult to choose a path. I have a 14 month old Berner that just went through a series of xrays and consultations with an Orthopedic specialist to determine his long term and short term prognosis. His xrays showed that he definitely has some changes in his joints but none that point to arthritic changes as of yet. His hind legs are more of an issue than his front although one of his front legs does give him a jolt if he gets playing silly. His ligaments and tendons in the hind are not really tight enough to stablize the joints, therefore his two "ankles if you will" can rotate almost 360 degrees. This in some ways is beneficial and in others can be a hindrance. He was on medication as during a period of about 6 weeks he was going through a rapid growth spurt and putting too much stress on his limbs and was in pain. We have now removed him from all meds and are allowing him to be a big goof and play how he wants. Prior to that, we were restricting his movement and worrying about the what ifs a lot. The best piece of advice I received was to let him be a dog and enjoy life. If he's in pain, give him meds for 24-48 hours to ease the pain then let him be a dog all over again. If he's going to tear something or injure himself somehow, then there's not much you can do about it but fix what goes wrong. Sometimes prevention isn't always the way to go.

I don't know if this helped or hindered your thought process but I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to feel guilty or worry that you are doing the wrong thing. You love your dog and know your dog best, so if she wants to be a dog and enjoy life for the next couple of years, then why not let her do so. The theory I most believe in is "treat the patient not the xray or diagnosis".