A colloquialism that describes a company using its own products or services for its internal operations.

The basic premise behind “eating your own dog food” is that if a firm expects paying customers to use its products or services, it should expect no less from its own employees. Not using its own products for internal operations may imply that a company does not believe its products are best-of-breed despite its public proclamation of the fact, and that it has more confidence in a rival’s offerings. This could not only have a negative impact on employee morale, but can also potentially turn into a public-relations debacle.