Tail docking in large breed dogs is not always simply a cosmetic decision. I've seen a fair number of large breed dogs with tails (in breeds that are traditionally docked) at our hospital with nasty tail injuries from knocking that huge heavy tail into objects, and a couple times small children have gotten injured with the tails as well.

I think that if a tail is going to be docked it should be decided in before the puppy is born and done by a qualified vet at 3 days old. I've seen what happens when breeders try to do it themselves when things go wrong, and it's also a much bigger surgery with far longer recovery time to have a tail docked when the dog is much older.

I simply do not understand ear docking at all, it seems to be completely cosmetic with no health benefits that I've ever seen, in fact I've seen plenty of complications from ear docking.