The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word RIDGEBACK
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
R
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More clues leading to the result RIDGEBACK
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "dog from Southern Africa" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case dog from southern africa = ridgeback.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does RIDGEBACK mean?
RIDGEBACK noun- Any of three breeds of dog with a distinctive ridge of hair that runs against the grain of the rest of the coat along the spine: the Rhodesian Ridgeback, the Phu Quoc Ridgeback and the Thai Ridgeback.