Eating Your Own Dog Food

Dogfooding Creates A Sense Of Purpose

Using your own products isnt just valuable for ironing out problems and making sure theyre up to snuff. Its also a great way to build cohesion within your own team.

Writing for Forbes, entrepreneur Russ Fradin explains that before his company began eating its own dog food, his employees were clearly struggling to connect with their products mission. Without context for what they were building, marketing and selling, it was hard for them to care, which was reflected by a decrease in productivity.

That, he says, changed once everyone began actually using the product. Since then, our team members from top to bottom are more engaged with their work and have a true understanding of the reasons behind our operations, he writes.

Beyond the obvious desire to see your company flourish, having a personal stake in your offerings can help you persevere when things are tough. Your passion for your business will shine through, and entice others to get on board, as well.

Not everything is suitable for dogfoodingpharmaceuticals and medical devices are just a couple examples. But in many cases, teams that have a hands-on understanding of the companys products have a stronger sense of purpose than those who dont.

Where Does The Phrase Eat Your Own Dog Food Come From

Eating your own dog food is a phrase in the tech world that refers to the practice of regularly using your own products Originally the idea came from Alpo dog food commercials, in which spokesman assured us that Alpo is so good, he feeds it to his own dogs. The phrase has since been used to describe a wide range of products, from dog toys to dog beds.

Its also used as a catch-all term for any product that you use to feed your dog, regardless of whether or not its made by the company youre buying it from.

For example, if you buy a dog bed from Bed Bath & Beyond, you can use the phrase I feed my dog with my own bed to mean that the bed is made from the same materials as the rest of your bedding, and you dont have to buy any of the other products that come with it.

Brandwatch Clients We Want You To Get Involved

If you are a client or user of Brandwatch, I would love for you to challenge our developers to do your everyday tasks you can send us ideas or scenarios and well get our staff to do them!

The more we understand about your use cases, the better we can develop Brandwatch to suit them.

See below for an example of the scenarios and tasks we have used in the past if you need inspiration. You can send your own scenarios or ideas to me,

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What Happens If My Child Eats Dog Food

She might get a tummy ache or vomit, but its not dangerous. If you can, try to keep your toddler away from pet food. thatChunks of dry dog food could pose a choking hazard. Good-natured dogs can get aggressive to protect their territory. If youre concerned about your childs eating habits, talk to your pediatrician or pediatric gastroenterologist. They may be able to advise you on the best way to feed your baby.

The Results Of Eating Our Own Dogfood

As a company, Centercode has managed successful testing programs for decades. With the launch of the delta testing framework and the most comprehensive update to the Centercode platform ever, we felt a little anxious at the thought of how we were going to effectively test it .

Thankfully, the transition couldn’t have been smoother. Our best practices still apply – the only difference is that we have to put much less effort into the parts of managing a testing program that, quite frankly, weren’t as fun as the rest.

For instance, we spent no time managing tester engagement or building custom reports . Instead, we got to focus our time on engaging with valuable tester feedback and preparing for informative discussions with our stakeholders.

All in all, we had a great experience and we’d encourage any organization considering a transition from beta to Delta to give it a shot – itâs critical to the success of your product! It’s designed to require less effort while producing more value, and Centercode is here to support each step of the way.

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Traditional Pet Food Fights Back

More traditional pet food makers have cast doubt on the trend.

Purina says in an informational post that “According to the Association of American Feed Control Officials, there is no legal definition for the term ‘human-grade.'” It adds that “Whether or not a food can be consider a human-grade dog food has absolutely no impact on dog food safety, according to AAFCO.”

On its own site, AAFCO says“There have been human-grade claims on some pet foods for a few years. This term has no definition in any animal feed regulations.” It adds that “While pet owners can buy what they feel is best for their pet, they should understand the definitions and the odds.”

Our Favorite Homemade Dog Food Recipes

To jump to a recipe youre interested in, click on the link below. We also have some yummy organic dog treat recipes and treats made with Thanksgiving leftovers. You may wish to have a collection of pet food recipes on-hand at all times, making a cookbook an excellent choice. Dinner PAWsible is one of our favorites.

• Frozen Banana Treats

Note: The recipes below do not include serving size because portion sizes will vary depending on breed, weight, activity level, age, and the health of your dog. A recommendation is to feed your dog a comparable amount of ounces/cups to what you would usually feed in kibble BUT check with your vet to be certain.

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Should You Feed A Homemade Diet

Homemade diets are growing in popularity in part because the ingredients can be controlled, so there is no fear of dog food recalls. In addition, many people are trying to eat healthier and they want the same for their dogs. Homemade diets are favored by some because they contain whole food ingredients that are generally considered healthier than processed dog food.

Home cooking dog food is not right for everyone. There are some factors to consider before you switch your dog to a homemade diet.

• Be sure to find a dog food recipe that is complete and balanced. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to feed an incomplete or imbalanced diet to your dog.
• It takes time to measure ingredients and prepare the food correctly. Be sure you have a schedule that allows enough time to properly make your dog’s food on a regular basis.
• Make sure you can afford the ingredients to make your own dog food. Homemade food is typically less expensive than commercially prepared fresh or raw dog food, but it usually costs a little more than kibble.
• If you have a picky dog, you may need to source multiple recipes so you can change the diet periodically and keep your dog interested.

Is Homemade Food Better For Dogs

Though dogs are our closest domestic companions and have evolved with humans over the centuries, they still have different nutritional needs than us. They are omnivores, meaning that they can eat a varied diet of both meat and plants. Dogs need this variety in their standard meals wont be able to thrive on just meat alone.

The benefits of homemade dog food:

• Its fresh and customizable
• It can be great for the picky pup that wont eat kibble
• Its a great way to supplement your dogs diet
• It can add great variety to a meal plan

Homemade dog food can be a great way to provide for your pet with special nutritional needs, get creative in the kitchen, and treat your furry pal to the best. However, it will take a mindful approach to ensure your dogs nutritional needs are met.

Enough with the appetizers, lets get to the ground beef of it all: the recipes!

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Before Using Dog Supplements For Homemade Dog Food

The safest way to do this properly is to speak with a canine nutritionist or veterinarian who is well-versed in canine nutrition . Talk to them about your individual dogs current nutritional requirements, dog supplements for homemade dog food you can use, and their dosage.

In the above photo, you can see which dog food supplements I commonly use in my own homemade dog food recipes.

Many of those youre likely to use as well. Most common dog supplements recommended to add to homemade dog food recipes include:

• Multivitamin supplements

Where Does The Term Come From

Eating your own dog food is a phrase in the tech world that refers to the practice of regularly using your own products. Originally the idea came from Alpo dog food commercials, in which spokesman assured us that Alpo is so good, he feeds it to his own dogs. Since then, and one famous Microsoft memo later, the term has become common among software companies that feel it beneficial to use their own product internally.

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You Could Eat This Dog Food

• Publish date: Dec 13, 2022 2:49 PM EST

While many a pet owner has given their dog human food at some point or another — it’s hard to resist those sweet eyes patiently waiting at your side, after all — most vets warn against it as they prefer that dogs eat specialty diets engineered specifically for them.

However, as the popularity of raw food has risen in recent years, as well as consumer interest in being able to recognize the ingredients they read on food labels, more people want to be sure they aren’t feeding their animals anything that’s unhealthy.

Animal food manufacturers across all price points have leaned into this trend, leading to more products on store shelves touting “natural” or other descriptors to appeal to consumers. And while the ongoing argument of whether human food is suitable for pets or not rages on, many just chuck that advice out the window and feed their dogs whatever they please.

But a new product line from Full Moon Pet aims to change that by creating food that is “human-grade” — in other words, you could eat it yourself.

Mind The Performance Gap

When creating something to suit your own needs, its important to take note of whats already on the market. As N. Taylor Thompson writes for Harvard Business Review, an itch can result from two very different sources: existing products lacking the performance you need, or a lack of products to solve your problem.

Founding a business around a performance gap is very different from founding one around a product void. Thompson points to VR company Oculus as an example of the former, explaining that the emergence of the company gave existing platforms like X-Box and PlayStation incentive to step up their game. Entering the market was a risky move one that ultimately paid off because Facebook acquired the company intending to target a totally different audiencenon-gamersthan Oculus originally sought.

If your product is aimed at filling a performance gap, beware: Your idea may just be making the competition stronger.

Both dogfooding and scratching your own itch are built around one central premise: Youre building the products you want to see in the world. And if you want to see it, theres a good chance others do, too. Neither are a golden ticket to automatic success. But they do provide a solid foundation to build from.

This article is originally published on Nov 16, 2021, and updated on Nov 18, 2021.

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Tools Make Cooking A Breeze

The variety of readily available kitchen tools and supplies makes canine meal prep easier. With the revolution in home cooking, there are more tech-driven devices and affordable chef-grade tools available now than ever before. Electric pressure cookers, sous vide equipment, food processors and digital scales have joined that old standby, the crockpot, in many kitchens. All of these tools make the job of food preparation easier, more precise, and more efficient.

You Have To Switch Your Dog Gradually To A Homemade Diet

Switching from a commercial diet to a homemade diet, or even varying the ingredients in a homemade diet, can cause some dogs gastrointestinal upset.

Make changes to your dogs diet slowly, over at least a couple of days, to allow your dogs stomach time to adjust to the new food.

If you see any signs of decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, or a change in stools, talk with your veterinarian as soon as possible.

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Dont Ever Feed Your Dog From The Table

When you choose to give your dog human food to eat, make sure youre adding it to the top of their food in their bowl at their mealtime.

If your dog thinks that begging for scraps at the dinner table will get them a tasty treat, they will do it.

This also helps you to make sure that they arent getting too many scraps. Make sure to measure the amount of food your dog is eating, including any scraps they may receive from your dinner table.

Eating Their Own Dog Food

Microsoft may have a monopoly on the desktop, but the company has the same issuesmaybe even moreas others when it comes to running its own information technology department.

Unlike most companies, Microsoft has to use the same tools and then figure out how to resolve problems while actually using the same software as everyone else. Forbes.com caught up with Microsoft Chief Information Officer Tony Scott to talk about the massive task of running his companys IT operation.

Forbes.com: Microsoft is part of almost every enterprise on the planet. Whats changing?

Tony Scott: Weve been getting a lot of inquiries from CIOs around the globe. Everyones looking for where they can get the next set of cost savings or efficiencies or productivity. Theyre getting those questions from their bosses.

Dont those cost savings also come in conjunction with questions about security?

Security remains a big issue on the agenda for most CIOs. The other thing theyre focusing on is collaboration. Companies are trying to figure out how to reduce travel costs. Theres still a need for people to meet and exchange ideas. Those are the conversations that are going on today.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said repeatedly, We eat our own dog food. How does all of this apply to your organization?

Whats the biggest problem you face internally when youre upgrading?

How about from the standpoint of what you have versus what you need?

What about virtualization and cloud computing?

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Best Homemade Dog Food Recipes: Vet Approved And Nutritionally Complete

This content was reviewed by veterinarian Dr. JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM.

To keep the lights on, we receive affiliate commissions via some of our links. Our review process.

Imagine if you had to eat the same food every day of your life. Beyond being painfully dull, wouldnt you question whether youre getting a nutritionally complete and balanced diet? Welcome to a dogs life. Long ago, before commercially produced dog food, dogs ate many of the same foods as humans. Theres a reason our dogs beg for our food theyre meant to eat a variety. Weve cooked up some tips on how to make dog food, nutrition guidelines, and our favorite homemade dog food recipes.

You Will Need To Use Dog Supplements To Balance Meals

Homemade dog food supplements are often needed to ensure that the meals are balanced, particularly when it comes to vitamins and minerals.

Follow all veterinary advice to be sure that youre providing the appropriate amounts of nutrients and that the diet is balanced considering any underlying health issues. Your veterinarian can also give guidance on the types of dog supplements you will need and recommended brands.

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Proper Nutrition For Dogs

Like humans, dogs have nutritional needs that must be met in order for them to thrive. Dogs’ nutritional needs differ from our own, so you can’t exactly start sharing your own dinner with your dog. Feeding an incomplete or imbalanced diet can lead to vitamin and nutrient deficiencies in dogs.

Dogs need enough calories to meet their energy requirements. A dog’s daily caloric need depends on the dog’s life stage and activity level. Your veterinarian can help you determine how many calories your dog needs each day.

A homemade dog diet should contain an appropriate balance of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and fat. Vitamins and minerals must be added to the food to ensure it is complete and balanced.

• At least 10% protein, such as chicken, turkey, fish, lean beef
• Up to 50% carbohydrates, such as rice, pasta, and potatoes
• About 2.5-4.5% fiber, which can come from vegetables like peas, green beans, and carrots
• At least 5.5% fat, usually in the form of vegetable oil
• Vitamin and mineral supplements

If you are ready to get started cooking for your dog, the first step is to talk to your veterinarian. Your vet may have recipes for you to try. Or you may need a referral to a veterinary nutritionist or a vet that focuses on canine nutrition.

Fund Managers Prefer Human Food

There’s a similar saying in investment management: “Eat your own cooking.” Assuming fund managers are human beings, not dogs, the food would be fit for human consumption, and the food, in this case, is a portfolio of assets. As a marketing tactic to attract investors to their funds, portfolio managers will tout the fact that they eat their own cooking by investing their own money alongside the shareholders of their funds.

In 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission began requiring mutual funds to disclose the amount of PM’s personal investments in their funds. Morningstar, the mutual fund research and rating firm, conducted a study in 2015 that indicated that funds managed by PMs with higher personal investments delivered greater returns than the average of the competition meaningfully so, in many casesdepending on the asset class and on the amount of personal funds invested.

For example, for global equity funds, where PMs invested $1 million or more of their own money in the funds, 68% beat the competition average, compared to 32% of funds with PMs who did not personally invest a dime over a five-year period from 2009-14.

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