My Maltese puppy has lameness in front legs-Vet says from radius longer than ulna. Anyone had this problem?-?

I took my 5 mo. puppy to her vet because she started occasionally limping and they did x-rays. The vet says it’s because her radius has outgrown her ulna in both front legs. My research shows this is Elbow Dysplasia and I could only find information in larger breed dogs (I couldn’t find anything on Maltese for this disorder). Vet recommends feeding cheap dog feed to try to slow down growth and treat with pain medication (as this leads to arthritis) because surgery would be too invasive where she’s so small (8 lbs.). I also am supposed to limit her activity. I am going to get second opinion but wondered if anyone had similar problem or any recommendations. I did see the xrays but I can’t find a picture of a Maltese skeleton for comparison. Thanks!

This doesn’t sound like elbow dysplasia (that’s a bit different involving various centres of bone growth around the elbow), this sounds like a growth disorder.
Trying to slow down growth is one thing, but if it were my dog I’d be tempted to go for surgery because this is only going to be able to surgery corrected while your dogs bones are still growing. As soon as those growth plates are closed then this stops being an option.
It is not that common in puppies, but you are certainly not alone.
Even with surgery, your dog will still get arthritis in the long-term.
It’s like a bow an arrow effect and instead of the bones growing together, the radius is growing faster and that becomes like the string pulling the bow out of shape.
Hhhhmm, hope that made some kind of sense, it’s difficult to explain it without being able to draw you pictures and also without seeing your dog!

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