Cable cut American soldier's dog (5)
I believe the answer is:
corgi
'dog' is the definition.
(I know that corgi is a type of dog)
'cable cut american soldier's' is the wordplay.
'cable' becomes 'cord'.
'cut' means to remove the last letter.
'american soldier' becomes 'GI' (informal term for a US soldier).
'cord' with its final letter taken away is 'cor'.
'cor'+'gi'='CORGI'
(Other definitions for corgi that I've seen before include "Queen's dog?" , "Welsh breed of short-legged dog" , "Cardigan, possibly" , "Queen likes this" , "Small Welsh dog with fox-like head" .)