Colonist taking dog round lake (7)
I believe the answer is:
settler
'colonist' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'dog round lake' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'lake' could be 'l' (geographical abbreviation) and 'l' is present in the answer.
'dog' could be 'setter' (setter is a type of dog) and 'setter' is found within the leftover letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'taking' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for settler that I've seen before include "One taking up residence in a new area" , "newcomer, perhaps" , "Early mover into an area" , "One colonising new area" , "decisive blow" .)