1- Shampoo:
As we discussed the shampoo will clean away dirt, debris, fine particles, tiny shedded hairs and oils. It will do so without drying the skin or leaving behind residue.
2- Conditioner
:This only works well if a really good shampoo was used, since a foundation of either dry or oily skin and/or fur that has been damaged (partially or fully) will not allow the conditioner to do what it is supposed to do. When good products are used, the shampoo will properly cleanse and the conditioner will then give the Boxer's coat a nice smooth appearance.
If you were to look at a single strand of fur under a microscope, you'd see that the outer layer (cuticle) has a bunch of flakes or 'scales'. When these stick out and this happens on every strand on your Boxer dog's entire body, it leads to a coat of fur that looks ragged. The coat does not look smooth and it also will not look shiny. However, with a good conditioner that is allowed to work well based on the proper prepping by the shampoo, it will makes all those tiny scales lay flat… and this is what gives a dog a really nice smooth coat and allows the light to reflect which makes the coat look super clean and shiny.
3- Leave-in :
Once the coat is clean via an excellent shampoo and the cuticles of the dog's fur are tightly bound together via a good conditioner, a leave-in product will do 3 things:
1) It will help to keep the coat in its pristine state.
2) It will protect the fur and skin from damage. Whether your Boxer dog is outside for 20 minutes a day or 2 hours, sun damage via UV rays gradually damage both skin and coat and this is of course more severe in the
summer.
A good leave-in product is similar to a sun block. Sun exposure over the course of years can lead to skin cancer and for a Boxer's coat, it can lead to super dull and dry fur… and the effects are not easily reversed. It's better to protect the coat now then try to fix it later.
Also, contact friction is a huge issue with the Boxer breed. This is a dog that is often on the floor where elbows and other parts of the body are constantly rubbing against carpeting, grass and other ground surfaces. The leave-in will help guard the coat from contact and static friction.
3) Even with a super good shampoo, the scent will eventually wear off within a week or so. A light misting of a quality spritz can make a Boxer dog smell great.