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A hopeless search for shoelace I saw dog whirling (1,4-5,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

a wild-goose chase

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'a hopeless search for shoelace i saw dog whirling' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'a hopeless search for shoelace i saw dog whirling' is the wordplay.
'shoelace i saw dog' can be anagrammed to 'A WILD-GOOSE CHASE'.
Though, I'm not clear how the anagram is indicated.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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