I would bring her into the vet for an opinion - they may end up wanting to do xrays. It is a common problem in poorly bred basset hounds and many of the dogs I have fostered have a similar issue in their front legs. Only one has ever come into the rescue I work with in the past 5 years that actually needed surgery for front leg deformities.
I adopted my Bogie when he was around that age and he is bow-legged, so his are rotated the other way and looks like he has "elbows" sticking out instead of the "elbows" touching each other as in your dog. I was afraid of the same thing you are - a whole lotta vet bills. The vets I brought him to recommended I keep him on the skinny side to limit the amount of weight he is carrying. The vet said as long as it isn't causing him severe pain, there was no point of fixing his legs - he can walk, run, jump, play just like any other dog. That isn't to say he moves perfectly normal - he definitely compensates his weight, to run straight ahead he runs at an angle (if that makes sense) and he doesn't seem to lift his front legs up as much as other dogs so when he walks, his nails sometimes scrape against the ground during the step. But he isn't in any pain and gets along just fine. They also warned that he would likely get arthritis in those joints earlier in the life and that giving him glucosamine certainly couldn't hurt.
Again, I would take her to the vet. There isn't a clear cut line between this angle is too severe and needs surgery vs manageable, and your vet should be able to observe the way she walks, feel her legs, etc and better make the decision.
I adopted my Bogie when he was around that age and he is bow-legged, so his are rotated the other way and looks like he has "elbows" sticking out instead of the "elbows" touching each other as in your dog. I was afraid of the same thing you are - a whole lotta vet bills. The vets I brought him to recommended I keep him on the skinny side to limit the amount of weight he is carrying. The vet said as long as it isn't causing him severe pain, there was no point of fixing his legs - he can walk, run, jump, play just like any other dog. That isn't to say he moves perfectly normal - he definitely compensates his weight, to run straight ahead he runs at an angle (if that makes sense) and he doesn't seem to lift his front legs up as much as other dogs so when he walks, his nails sometimes scrape against the ground during the step. But he isn't in any pain and gets along just fine. They also warned that he would likely get arthritis in those joints earlier in the life and that giving him glucosamine certainly couldn't hurt.
Again, I would take her to the vet. There isn't a clear cut line between this angle is too severe and needs surgery vs manageable, and your vet should be able to observe the way she walks, feel her legs, etc and better make the decision.
