down the stairs. the prepositional phrase starts with a preposition. down is the preposition
It would be the sentence B.
Answer:
1) The act or process of withdrawing, especially from something hazardous, formidable, or unpleasant.
Explanation:
We can see by how it's used in the passage that it's used as a verb, not as a noun, so we can eliminate 2. There's no military forces here, and this dog isn't retiring, so I'd say your best bet is 1, since the dog is withdrawing/retreating from the whip.
can you edit question and put sentence options so i can answer the question