Spies dog out of control - was rabbiting (8)
I believe the answer is:
gossiped
'control was rabbiting' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'spies dog out' is the wordplay.
'out' is an anagram indicator (out can mean wrong or inaccurate).
'spies'+'dog'='spiesdog'
'spiesdog' with letters rearranged gives 'GOSSIPED'.
'of' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gossiped that I've seen before include "Prattled" , "Chatted casually about other people's affairs" , "Passed on tittle-tattle" , "Chatted idly" .)