What does the cryptic crossword clue "Sweet, tailless dogs were trained by this man (6)" mean?

The definition is "dogs were trained by this man". The wordplay uses a deletion. PAVLOV (deletion) = PAVLOV The answer is PAVLOV.

Sweet, tailless dogs were trained by this man (6)

Times Cryptic #29163 | 19 Across | 2025-02-26 flower