Freedom is earned in patterns, not granted by age
Two young dogs of the same age can be months apart in readiness, so birthdays and breed generalisations are poor guides. What you are looking for is a repeated pattern across several walks, not one brilliant afternoon: she orients to you regularly without being called, makes good choices when nothing exciting is happening, and handles small surprises without either shutting down or exploding. A single perfect recall on a quiet Tuesday does not qualify her for a crowded Saturday park, and one dreadful adolescent day does not erase weeks of solid behaviour either.
The check-in and recall milestones that matter most
On her current line length, she should glance back or return to you voluntarily every minute or so in a familiar place — that unprompted check-in is the clearest sign her attention lives partly with you. Her recall should succeed away from moderate distractions: a scent she was investigating, a dog at a distance, a bird lifting from the grass. She should also respond to her name instantly in the garden and on walks, and come away from the end of the line without needing its pressure as a reminder. If any of those only work when the environment is empty, more freedom will simply give her more room to practise ignoring you.
Recovery and self-control milestones owners overlook
Watch how she recovers when something startles or thrills her — a skateboard passing, a dog barking behind a fence. A dog ready for more challenge notices, perhaps pulls or barks once, then can eat a treat, look back at you and resume walking within moments. Also look for lead manners under mild excitement: passing a calm dog across the street without fixating, waiting at kerbs, and settling briefly outside a shop. These self-control milestones predict success in busier places far better than obedience drilled in a quiet hall.
Upgrade one freedom at a time and test it fairly
Change a single variable per step: a longer line in her usual field, or the usual short lead in a busier street, never both together. Give each new level several outings before judging it, and judge by her worst moments, not her average — freedom fails at the edges. If she blows off two recalls or cannot recover after distractions at the new level, return to the previous setup for a fortnight without frustration; stepping back is training information, not defeat, and most young dogs yo-yo through adolescence before the mature pattern settles.
Freedom also means knowing when to hold the line
Some environments stay beyond a young dog until maturity no matter how good her basics are — off-lead areas beside livestock, picnic fields strewn with food, beaches crowded with running children. Keeping her on a line there is not a lack of faith; it is matching the demand to the dog in front of you on that day, accounting for tiredness, hormones and novelty. Freedom granted in stages she can sustain is freedom that lasts, and a borderline outing you cannot read is a good reason to put a follow-up question to KinsLe's Kimmy; she answers using the KinsLe Answers library.