Diabetes

Question
Wondering if there are any other boxers with diabetes out there.
We have a 2-1/2 year old boxer Mac (god we love him) and he was fixed about 2 months ago. Well about week or 2 after that he started to be peeing and drinking water ALL the time and having accidents (which is a never for him). We brought him to the vet and they did a mellunary (sp?) wash and after that he was still the same. They then did a diabetes test and found he has diabetes. He now has to be given 3 shots a day along with still drinking alot of water and peeing. With issue not changing they took another blood test and found very high sodium levels in his blood. So they did a I/V for 2 days to wash that out. It went down 20 points and he was back to eating very good, gaining his weight back and now happen to have some more energy.
Problem is he still has the peeing and drinking issue that sounds like is going to be his living situation with having the diabetes. It has been very hard on us for he wants to be let out every hour to hour in a half and at night needs to go out every 2 hours if sometimes not less. We leave the house for more than 2-3 hours we come home and he has peed in his kennel. It is something we can not accomodate for him being we have jobs and cannot let him out every 2 hours or can we give him one of his shots in the middle of the day (father is coming over and helping with that). On top of that he needs to be on a certain food that will cost us $80/month along with the insulin that is $100/month.
Checking to see if anyone else out there has heard or having any of the same issues. We are at a loss on what do to and where to go from here for it seems this is what it is but we cannot do it all for him as sad as it is it's just reality. We LOVE him soo much and I have 2 kids ages 7 and 4 that would die if anything happened to him.
Thoughts from ANYONE would be great and just your personal advice!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Answer
Diabetes is horrible for anyone, including dogs. If our dogs were in the wild, they would die with diabetes. It is up to us to keep them healthy and alive, and you are certainly doing everything you can to ensure that. Kudos to you.

Here are some brief articles:

http://www.diabetesrevealed.com/61Diabetes_dog.shtml?gclid=COLavvPgtIQCFRpESgodq...

http://www.essortment.com/all/caninediabetes_rkvf.htm

http://www.helpyourdog.net/pages/K9-LevelStat-Maintain-Healthy-Blood-Sugar-Level...


Do you have a glucose testing meter? It would be best to check him every few hours of the day-- at least 3-4 times. This will help in adjusting his insulin accordingly.

Here are some links on food and treats:

http://www.caninediabetes.org/dogfood.html

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/diabetic-dog-treats/detail.aspx

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/choosing-the-diabetic-dog-food.html

Yes, other Boxers have diabetes, and other dog breeds. It's no different than people.

You might search around for alternative dog food for a diabetic dog. Read the complete ingredients in the dog food you are giving him now and (write it down on a list) and see if you can match it with a cheaper brand and source.

You might consider cooking for him, as a diabetic has to be on a particular diet designed for their needs.

As for crating him and his peeing-- I wouldn't crate him.

Let him remain uncrated (if he has before) and buy the pee-pads and teach him to go on one. There is also the new pee pad that looks like grass that you empty and wash.. and this one at: http://www.ugodog.net/

and:

http://www.prettypeepads.com/

The "potty patch" that's seen on tv"

https://www.besttvbuys.com/pottypatch/ver3/index.asp?did=978&refcode=p4

I would buy and use one of those, and shop for a comparable dog food for him, keep plenty of fresh water available, test his glucose often, and allow him to stay loose with the pee pad.