young gr exercise

Question
Hi
i have an almost 4 month old golden who LOVES to run. i hav heard that it is bad for their joints if they run too much   at the time he has full a small fenced in area outside of the door that he shares with our older dog.  we let him out if the small kids are inside and he has run of 18 acres  is it bad if he RUNS around everywhere our should he be confined to walking on the leash  he also loves to swim in the pond and go after fish and things  is that okay for him to do
thanx
Amanda

Answer
If you are not forcing him to run, it is fine. He knows when it starts to hurt. But if he keeps running for a long time, and it is obvious it hurts but he won't stop, then you need to stop him. As for the swimming, it is perfectly fine if he has gotten all of his shots done. Until then no swimming in public lakes and ponds. But your home swimming pool should be fine.