hi, i hope its ok to ask because ive been a wreck over this- over a month ago my childhood chi/pom mix (12 y/o) didnt feel so good one night (she paced and stayed up all night), a few days later seemed ok but a week later paced once again, and has been not quite acting 'herself' since then... mainly at night. at night she paces, usually she always sleeps with me but she goes over to the bed and acts disoriented, she doesnt want to be picked up, trying to pet her she walks away. she can lay down but doesnt sit still for long. she wants to hide in the bathroom and just sit in one spot. sometimes she randomly jumps up and sprints. we did blood tests, she has no infections, only a tooth problem and worn hips, but they said it wouldn't cause her odd behavior. they are suspecting CCD, but we hadn't done xrays yet or an MRI to rule anything out. since we are tight on money, would it be beneficial to go for the MRI rather than xrays? this seemingly came out of nowhere, as she didn't seem to have any other signs of it leading up to this, so many hit all at once...
gettingvetted here.
I will admit I have never heard of using an MRI to diagnose canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD). We usually diagnose it by ruling out other issues using bloodwork, urinalysis, etc. and then starting treatment to see if it helps. They may be considering an MRI to rule out brain cancer however, which is of course a top concern for sudden behavior changes or seizures in older pets. If you are money conscious, an MRI would not be your best bet as it will likely cost several thousand dollars. Discuss what treatment would look like with your vet and see if that is a viable option rather than springing for referral and advanced diagnostics.