Crossword Genius

The wagtail? (4,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

bird dog

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

'the wagtail?' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both animals as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I don't see?

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

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for bird dog that I've seen before include "American retriever" , "Retriever (in US)" , "animal" , "American talent scout" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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