Lead taken off hunting dog, a predatory creature (5)
I believe the answer is:
eagle
'creature' is the definition.
(eagle is a kind of creature)
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for eagle that I've seen before include "Valuable piece" , "A glee-ful bird?" , "kind of bird" , "Aglee (anag.)" , "somewhat under par" .)