What dogs do to court female (4)
I believe the answer is:
woof
'what dogs do' is the definition.
'court female' is the wordplay.
'court' becomes 'woo' ('woo' can be a synonym of 'court').
'female' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'woo'+'f'='WOOF'
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for woof that I've seen before include "The thread" , "Sound of dog's bark" , "Gruff bark of dog" , "Dog sound" , "Yarn" .)