An Angel......................... sorry i needed 20 characters
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.
The hockey team <span>coveted</span> the first-place trophy that was awarded last year to their arch rivals.
Coveted means to really want something.