The bird — he avoided dog (5)
I believe the answer is:
trail
'dog' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'the bird' is the wordplay.
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
'bird' becomes 'rail' (a wading bird).
't'+'rail'='TRAIL'
'he avoided' acts as a link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
(Other definitions for trail that I've seen before include "Need to catch up with" , "Fall behind" , "Beaten path; be in losing position" , "Drop behind" , "Spoor - lag behind" .)