Escapologist's dog losing direction in India (7)

I believe the answer is:

houdini

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'escapologist's' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.

(Other definitions for houdini that I've seen before include "American escapologist, d. 1926" , "US magician and escapologist, 1874-1926" , "Hungarian-born American magician, d. 1926" , "Weiss -" , "tie-break ace" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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