Crossword Genius

Daughter initially implied suspicious character is dog killer? (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

distemper

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

'dog killer?' is the definition.
'distemper' can be an answer for 'dog' (thesaurus). I am not certain of the 'killer?' bit.

'daughter initially implied suspicious character' is the wordplay.
'daughter' becomes 'd' (genealogical abbreviation).
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
'character' becomes 'temper' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
The first letters of 'implied suspicious' is 'is'.
'd'+'is'+'temper'='DISTEMPER'

'is' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for distemper that I've seen before include "problem with dogs" , "Paint - dog disease" , "Canine ailment - whitewash" , "Kind of paint" , "problem for pet" .)

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app