In throwing a stick around for a dog (6)
I believe the answer is:
canine
'a dog' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'in throwing a stick around' is the wordplay.
'throwing' indicates an anagram.
'a stick' becomes 'cane' (cane is a kind of stick).
'around' is an insertion indicator.
'in' anagrammed gives 'ni'.
'ni' going within 'cane' is 'CANINE'.
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for canine that I've seen before include "Maybe setter" , "Relating to dogs" , "Boxer" , "Doggy; tooth" , "Tooth; dog" .)