Although we live in a busy world where many professional dog groomers abound, there are some good reasons why you might want to do your boxer's grooming yourself. First of all, it keeps you in touch with your boxer and thus aware of any lumps and bumps that might come up on your boxer's body. The importance of this cannot be overemphasized in maintaining an early warning system to maintain health for your boxer.

Grooming your boxer yourself also gives you a chance to check on sore muscles and joints. It gives you a chance to massage the occiput, the jaw line underneath the jowls, the neck, down the spine, then the front legs, bending them to see the range of motion in the limbs. The front leg should come slightly forward then bend at the elbow joint if the range of motion is normal — the movement should be smooth and fluid, and your boxer should show no signs of pain. To check the back leg, push the knee and stifle forward, then stretch the leg back and extend gently, only as far as your boxer will let you, to see the range of motion there. The motion should be smooth and fluid.

Frequent, consistent grooming helps contribute to your boxer's overall well-being.

Though doing the grooming yourself is ideal, some people have difficulty fitting this routine into their schedules. If you find that you cannot do at least a biweekly grooming session, you might want to engage the services of a professional groomer. While professionals will not be as attuned to physical changes in your boxer, if you are having a flea problem or are too busy or too physically incapacitated to groom your boxer, hiring a professional groomer to bathe, groom and to trim his nails is a good idea.