I had the misfortune of hearing a puppy have its tail docked one time. I will never forget the screaming that poor thing did. I live in the country and some people do things themselves. I was at somebody's house and they had rotty/lab puppies. They all had rotty markings so they decided to dock their tails. They were one day old. I told them to not do it with me there, I wanted to be in the house when it was done. I wasn't let through the door yet when they did the one puppy. It was horrific!!!! I didn't see it, the sound was enough. I alsk saw a boxer after his ears were cropped. Every time the ears hit something, they would bleed. It had to be so painful for the little guy. I would NEVER dock tails or crop ears for appearance sake. They were born with tails and floppy ears for a reason!!!!