Your dog sees a squirrel and is gone. You call. Nothing happens. Two minutes later they trot back, filthy and delighted, and you are still shaking.
Why chasing beats your recall
Chasing is self-rewarding. The stalking and the pursuit pay while they are happening, with no help from you. Nothing in your treat pouch pays that fast.
Adolescence stacks on top of that. Dogs respond less to their caregiver's cues around the onset of adolescence, and that responsiveness returns later in the stage.
So this is not a broken dog, and it is not a broken recall. It is one cue competing with the best thing in the field.
Manage the environment for the next 2 weeks
Clip a 30 foot long line to a harness in every place your dog has run off before. Leave it on for the whole walk.
Walk the squirrel trees and the woodland edge at quiet times, or pick a different route for a fortnight.
Scan ahead rather than at your phone. Seeing the squirrel 5 seconds before your dog does is most of the skill.
A long line is management rather than training. It stops your dog rehearsing the version where the chase always works.
Pay the check-in, every time
The behaviour you want is your dog looking back at you while the woods are still interesting. That is what earns food, unasked.
Every time your dog turns their head toward you outdoors, say one warm word and feed 3 treats. Do not wait to be impressed.
Call once while their head is already turning, not when they are locked on. A cue spent on a lost cause teaches them to ignore it.
Feed, then release them back to sniffing on 4 of every 5 recalls, so coming back does not mean the walk ends.
Give the chase somewhere legal to go
A dog built to chase does not stop wanting to chase. The urge does better with an outlet you control than with no outlet at all.
Carry a tug toy or a ball on a rope, and run 2 short chase games per walk, started on your cue.
Drag or throw the toy low along the ground rather than high, since ground movement is closer to what your dog is chasing.
Finish the game while your dog still wants more, then ask for sniffing time to bring them back down.
Safety note
Chasing wildlife, livestock or people is a safety matter. Keep your dog on a long line or leash until it is resolved. A dog who chases livestock, or who has caught and injured an animal, needs a qualified behaviour professional. Chasing that appears suddenly in a dog who never did it warrants a veterinary examination.
Today's version, in one line: long line on, pay every look back, and give the chase a toy to land on.