Place dog next to puppy's mother? (9)
I believe the answer is:
rotterdam
'place dog' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both locations as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'next to puppy's mother?' is the wordplay.
'next to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'puppy's' becomes 'rotter' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'mother?' becomes 'dam' (female parent of an animal).
'rotter' put next to 'dam' is 'ROTTERDAM'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for rotterdam that I've seen before include "European city" , "One of the world's largest ports" , "European port" , "Major North Sea port - tarred tom (anag)" , "Major world seaport at the mouth of the Meuse" .)