The phrase "make a dog's breakfast of" is an idiomatic expression that means to mess something up badly. There are several other idioms and synonyms that can be used instead of this phrase, such as "make a mess of", "botch up", "muck up" or "screw up". Another similar expression is "make a pig's ear of", meaning to make a mess or a complete failure of something. It's essential to be familiar with alternative phrases in order to avoid repetition and make your writing or speech more diverse. So the next time you need to describe someone's failure or mistake, you have some alternatives to choose from instead of using the cliche "make a dog's breakfast of".