try it on the dog verb1 •(informal) To try something (especially a theatrical play) on a less important audience to gauge the likelihood of success before committing to general release or approval.They had feared to make the venture with it at the California theatre in San Francisco where they had been favorites, so they brought it to Salt Lake to "try it on the dog." — 1905 formstried it on the dog · trying it on the dog · tries it on the dog
