Mother strict with dog? (7)
I believe the answer is:
mastiff
'dog?' is the definition.
(mastiff is a kind of dog)
'mother strict' is the wordplay.
'mother' becomes 'ma' (ma is a kind of mother).
'strict' becomes 'stiff' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'ma'+'stiff'='MASTIFF'
'with' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mastiff that I've seen before include "Big dog" , "Large short-haired dog breed" , "one of his best friends?" , "Strong breed of dog" , "Large, powerful, short-haired dog" .)