bay

A sound an animal makes, similar to a howl or a loud growl. Most often associated with canids, including wolves, coyotes, foxes, and the domesticated dogs.

When one desires to delay something, or to keep some amount of distance between oneself and another, one can work to keep something "at bay." This saying derives from the fraught relationship between a baying hound, for example, and its prey, and the desire of the prey to remain as far away from capture as possible.