Dictionary

buy a dog and bark oneself en · VERB

(idiomatic, informal) To do something that one has hired someone else to do.
- "Me, cook?" Berties lip curled. "I've Flo. You don't buy a dog and bark yourself. Why'd you want to know that anyway?” 2013, Patrick Taylor, Fingal O'Reilly, Irish Doctor: An Irish Country Novel, →ISBN:
- "We could indeed," I said, "but I'm left wondering why you'd buy a dog and bark yourself. What are you up to?" 2016, Helen Callaghan, Dear Amy, →ISBN, page 164:
- A large board doing its own selection is not buying a dog and barking itself, it is hiring a surgeon and operating itself. 2016, Douglas Board, Choosing Leaders and Choosing to Lead, →ISBN:
- Don't buy a dog and bark yourself. Corporate sales are complex and risky. Appoint experienced advisers and get them to manage the process under your I Information. 2009, QFinance: The Ultimate Resource, →ISBN, page 412:

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
have a dog and bark oneself		alternative	lexicographic
bought a dog and barked oneself	Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part		lexicographic
bought a dog and barked oneself	Tense=Past		lexicographic
buys a dog and barks oneself	Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres		lexicographic
keep a dog and bark oneself		alternative	lexicographic
buying a dog and barking oneself	Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part		lexicographic