# eat one's own dog food

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/eat-ones-own-dog-food
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To use or consume the economic goods or services that one is producing; to be part of a closed household economy.

## Examples

- The software company makes its employees eat their own dog food.
- Before releasing the app to customers, the developers spent a month eating their own dog food to find bugs.
- The farm had long prided itself on eating its own dog food, growing every vegetable and raising every animal that graced its table.

## Origin

From dog food (“beta software”).

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.