to be a consumer of the product or service that one’s employer offers to the general public, thus simultaneously inhabiting the role of customer as well as seller; originated in the technology industry, in which companies used their software for their internal operations, forcing them to grapple directly with the instability and bugs inherent in code development; in a broader business context the phrase is usually divorced from its technical origins, and the unappetizing nature of dog food and the comical imagery it evokes makes it informal; if prefaced by a negative (“He won’t…), can serve as an indication that the subject is unwilling to share in the burdens or unpleasantness that he imposes on others; it remains unclear why any party, at any time, would be willing to ingest dog food, either their own or that belonging to someone else; not used by those who wish to be understood