Brave cat ripped into dog (7)
I believe the answer is:
choctaw
'brave' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'cat ripped into dog' is the wordplay.
'ripped' indicates anagramming the letters.
'into' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'dog' becomes 'chow' (chow is a kind of dog).
'cat' with letters rearranged gives 'cta'.
'cta' placed within 'chow' is 'CHOCTAW'.
(Other definitions for choctaw that I've seen before include "figure-skating manoeuvre" , "skating move" , "Tribe living in Mississippi, co-watch (anag.)" , "Brave" , "North American Indian" .)