Every day, on a scale of one to five (one being very poor and five being excellent), note how your dog is eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, and give an overall rating for his pain control, anxiety level, activity, and interest in family life. When you notice a sustained, downward trend in any of these criteria, or, even more importantly, several criteria at once, the end is quite near no matter what you do, and the benefits of delaying euthanasia are questionable at best.