Best canine, surprisingly, shows ability to resist temptation (10)

I believe the answer is:

abstinence

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'ability to resist temptation' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'best canine surprisingly' is the wordplay.
'surprisingly' is an anagram indicator (a surprising ordering of the letters).
'best'+'canine'='bestcanine'
'bestcanine' is an anagram of 'ABSTINENCE'.

'shows' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for abstinence that I've seen before include "Not drinking" , "Temperance" , "Practice of refraining from indulging an appetite" , "Teetotalism" , "Staying away from" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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