Crossword Genius

Sailor whose pet needs a lot of water? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

seadog

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'sailor' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see an association between them that I don't see?

'pet needs a lot of water?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'pet' could be 'dog' and 'dog' is found within the answer.
'a' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'se' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'whose' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for seadog that I've seen before include "Mate, perhaps" , "Rating" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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