Every trail recorded,
metre by metre

Step by step

1. 01

   Registration and login

   After installing the app, create an account with your email, first name, last name and password. Verify your email — we send a link to the address you provided. Once logged in you have access to every feature.

   Note

   The free account has limits: 1 dog, 15 trails, no organisation creation.

2. 02

   Add your dog

   Go to Options → My dogs → Add dog. Fill in the form: name, gender, choose an avatar. Optionally add date of birth and chip number.

   In the dog’s profile you can:

   • add exams (name, date),
   • track statistics: kilometres, hours, number of trails,
   • Premium: manage events and reminders — vaccinations, deworming, vet visits.

   Events and reminders (Premium)

   A health and scheduling system for your dog. Available event types:

   • Deworming — reminders for regular treatments
   • Vaccination — rabies, parvovirus, distemper and others
   • Insurance — renewal date
   • Vet check-up — routine examinations
   • Dentist — teeth cleaning, check-up
   • Exam or course — training, certificates
   • Grooming — groomer visits
   • Other — any custom event

   Features:

   • Reminders — choose how many days before: 7, 14, 30, 60 or 90
   • Recurring events — the next date is created automatically every 1, 2, 3, 6 or 12 months
   • Notifications — every day at 9:00 you get a reminder about upcoming events
   • Status colours — green: done, red: overdue, yellow: upcoming, blue: scheduled
   • “Done” button — mark as completed; for recurring events the next date is created automatically

   Example: you add a rabies vaccination dated 15/03/2026, with a 14-day reminder and a 12-month cycle. You get a notification on 01/03/2026, and after marking it as “Done” the next vaccination is created automatically for 15/03/2027.

3. 03

   Recording a trail

   “Human” mode — records the person’s trail, i.e. the scent trail to follow:

   • Choose Trailing with Open Street Map, or Google Maps on Premium
   • Wait for GPS calibration — the green “GPS OK” icon
   • Tap Start — the app begins recording GPS points every few seconds
   • Walk the route your dog will track
   • You can add waypoints at key locations
   • Tap Stop when you are finished
   • Name the trail and save it

   “Dog” mode — first select a dog in Options and switch the mode to “Dog”. Then record the dog’s trail exactly as above.

4. 04

   Trail pairing and decoy trails

   The app can remember which human trail your dog was following. No more hunting for the matching trail in the list, or guessing which one to compare with which.

   Turn it on in Options → Trail options → Trail pairing. There are three switches:

   • Trail pairing — enables the whole feature. Free.
   • Automatic Adventure Mode — picking a trail turns off-trail alerts on straight away, with no need to find the flag for every trail (Premium).
   • Add decoy trails — lets you mark trails your dog should ignore. Free.

   How it works in the field

   • Switch to dog mode — a Trail: none selected bar appears above the buttons.
   • Tap it and pick a human trail. You get Mine / Organisation / Imported tabs, a newest-first list and a “laid X min ago” label — at a group training you can see at a glance which trail is fresh.
   • The chosen trail is left alone on the map — everything else is cleared so nothing gets in the way.
   • With decoys enabled, a second bar appears. Mark as many trails to avoid as you like — the target itself can’t also be a decoy.
   • Start, trail, stop, save. The pair is created by itself.

   Once saved, the dog trail carries a pair badge in Trail management. Tapping the eye shows the full set at once: the dog trail, the human trail and every decoy. Tapping again hides them all together.

   Works without a signal too

   A trail laid in the woods with no internet is saved on the phone and shows up in the list straight away with a “saved locally” badge — so you can still pick it as your dog’s target. The pair completes itself once both trails reach the server.

   Forgot to pick one before starting?

   No problem. You can still choose the target in the save dialog, and later on with the crosshair icon next to the dog trail’s name in Trail management. The same icon breaks the pair.

5. 05

   Trail video recordingPremium

   While trailing you can also record video with sound, all while watching the map:

   • On the map screen tap the camera icon below the ruler — a camera preview opens
   • Tap the red REC button to start recording — a timer shows the duration
   • Tap it again to stop — the video saves automatically to your phone gallery, in a “NOS Trailing” album
   • In Options → Video recording you can set recording quality, preview size and its position — separately for portrait and landscape

   Privacy

   The recording stays only on your phone — nothing is uploaded to any server.

6. 06

   Trail management and navigation

   From the map screen tap Manage trails. You will see a list of saved trails with these options:

   • Eye — show or hide the trail on the map
   • Export — export GPX for other GPS apps
   • Trash — delete the trail
   • Pencil — rename the trail, icon next to the name
   • Move — move the trail between human and dog tracks, icon next to the name
   • Crosshair — navigate to the trail. Grey when inactive, yellow when active. It only appears when the trail is visible. Tap the crosshair and close the dialog — the map centres on the selected trail automatically. Perfect for quickly finding organisation or friends’ trails.
   • Flag — enable Adventure Mode for this trail; the app will alert you when the dog strays (Premium)
   • Filters — “Mine” (all), “Dog” (dog only), “Org.” (organisation)

   After saving a trail you can rate it from 1 to 5 stars and add notes.

7. 07

   Trailing analysisPremium

   Recorded two trails? You can analyse them:

   1. Open Manage trails
   2. Make both trails visible
   3. Tap Analyse trailing

   The app automatically treats the trail that started earlier as the layer’s trail and the later one as the dog’s — regardless of the order you enabled them. It calculates the trail ageing time, average and maximum distance of the dog from the trail, coverage percentage (points within a 10 m radius) and a score for the dog’s work.

8. 08

   Organisations

   Browse organisations (free):

   • Options → Organisation → Browse organisations
   • See a list of all public organisations — find a training group near you
   • Contact the admin and ask for an invitation code

   Join an organisation (free):

   • Options → Organisation → Join organisation
   • Enter the invitation code you received from the group admin
   • Once accepted you can see the members’ trails

   Create an organisation (Premium): Options → Organisation → Add organisation. Enter a name and ask members to join with the code.

   Roles in an organisation

   Permission	Owner	Administrator	Member
   Delete organisation	yes	no	no
   Accept and reject join requests	yes	yes	no
   Remove a member	yes	yes	no
   Remove an administrator	yes	no	no
   Promote member to administrator	yes	yes	no
   Demote administrator to member	yes	no	no
   Record a trail with any organisation dog (Premium)	yes	yes	no
   View organisation members, dogs and roles	yes	yes	yes
   Protected from removal	yes	no	no

9. 09

   Training journal

   From the main menu choose Training journal. The screen has two tabs.

   “Journal” tab — a chronological list of trails for the selected dog:

   • date and time of the session,
   • distance in kilometres and duration,
   • star rating and notes,
   • weather conditions: temperature and humidity.

   “Sessions” tab (Premium) — planning group sessions:

   • create a session: title, date, time, place, notes and an optional map pin,
   • invite organisation members or share a 6-character code with people outside it,
   • copy the code and send it to a friend — they join by entering it in the app.

   Monthly statistics

   At the top of the journal you see a summary: how many trails you, your dog and the whole organisation recorded this month.

10. 10

    SOS system — safety during training

    Lost during training?

    Send an SOS alert to your emergency contacts — they receive notifications with your live location.

    Step 1: add emergency contacts

    • Go to Options → Emergency contacts
    • Tap Add contact
    • Enter the email of the person who will be your emergency contact — they must have an account in the app
    • A request is sent; the other person has to accept it
    • You can have up to 5 emergency contacts

    Step 2: send an SOS when you get lost

    • While trailing, or when you get lost, tap SOS in the main menu
    • A red Send SOS alert button appears — tap it
    • Your emergency contacts receive two push notifications: the first immediately, the second after 10 minutes if the alert is still active
    • Your location is updated every 2 minutes — contacts can see where you are in real time
    • Red markers with your position appear on the map, and contacts see the distance to you in metres

    Step 3: mark yourself as safe

    • Once you are safe, tap I am safe
    • The SOS alert is resolved and contacts stop receiving updates
    • If you forget to resolve the alert, it ends automatically after 12 hours

    Tip

    The SOS system works both ways — you can be an emergency contact for others and receive their alerts. When someone from your contacts sends an SOS, you see their location on the map as a red marker with the distance.

    Notifications

    Make sure notifications for NOS Trailing are enabled in your phone settings so you receive SOS alerts from your contacts.

Settings and advanced options

Disable GPS calibration

By default the app waits for GPS calibration — accuracy below 20 m — before it starts recording. You can turn this off:

1. On the trailing screen tap Options in the top-right corner
2. Uncheck “Wait for GPS calibration”
3. The Start button becomes active immediately, even with a weak signal

Without calibration the trail may be less accurate, especially at the beginning of the recording.

GPS recording frequency

In Options → GPS settings you can change how often points are recorded:

• Every 2 seconds — highest accuracy, more battery drain (default)
• Every 5 seconds — optimal
• Every 10 seconds — saves battery, lower accuracy

For mantrailing we recommend 2–5 seconds.

Recording modes: human and dog

The app distinguishes two types of trail:

• “Human” mode — records the person’s trail, i.e. the scent trail. Change it in Options → “Record as: Human”
• “Dog” mode — records the dog’s trail during tracking. Change it in Options by selecting a dog from the list

Waypoints (markers)

While recording you can add waypoints at key locations:

• Tap Add waypoint during recording
• Enter a description, for example “Crossroads”, “Direction change”, “Object”
• The waypoint appears on the map as a green icon with a number
• When you finish you see a list of all waypoints with time and distance

Useful for marking difficult spots or landmarks.

Importing trails from GPX

You can import ready-made trails from GPX files:

1. Options → Trail options → Import GPX
2. Select a GPX file from your phone
3. The trail is added to your trail list

GPX files from Garmin, Strava, Google Maps and OsmAnd are supported.

Trail optionsPremium

In Options → Trail options you will find advanced settings for Premium accounts.

Trail ratings

• Ask for a rating after the trail — an automatic rating dialog after saving
• Require a comment — force a note with every rating
• Show ratings in the list — stars visible on trail cards

Weather data

• Temperature — show temperature in °C in the trail list
• Humidity — show air humidity as a percentage
• Weather icon — a visual representation of the conditions
• Wind — speed and direction during the session

All weather data is recorded automatically while a trail is being recorded. In the options you choose which information is displayed.

Adventure ModePremium

What is it?

Adventure Mode is real-time guidance during trailing. The app tracks the dog’s position live and alerts you when it strays from the trail. It is like having a virtual instructor saying “the dog is too far from the route”.

How does it work?

1. Record the person’s trail, i.e. the scent trail, in “Human” mode
2. Select the trail from the list and tap the eye to show it on the map
3. Tap the flag next to the crosshair — this enables Adventure Mode
4. The Start button changes its icon to a flag, meaning Adventure Mode is active
5. Start trailing — the app monitors the dog’s distance from the trail in the background
6. When the dog strays beyond the configured 1–60 m threshold: the phone vibrates, a voice says “You are far from the trail” and a red banner shows the distance
7. When the dog returns to the trail: a green banner appears with the voice message “You are back on the trail”

Adventure Mode settings

In Options → Trail options → Adventure Mode settings you can configure:

• Distance threshold — 1–60 m on a continuous slider; when the dog exceeds it you get an alert
• Alert frequency — 5, 10 or 20 seconds, i.e. how often to repeat the alert while the dog is still far away
• Alert type — vibration only (discreet), voice message only, or both at once (recommended)

Why it works

• Instant correction — you know immediately when the dog leaves the trail
• Better learning — the dog learns to track more precisely thanks to quick feedback
• Time saved — no need to wait until the end to check whether the dog held the trail
• More confidence — you see the exact distance from the trail in real time
• Training at a distance — you can let the dog work independently and still monitor it

Tips

• The banner disappears automatically after 5 seconds, or you can tap it to close
• For beginner dogs: a low threshold of 5–10 m and a high frequency of 5 s
• For advanced dogs: a threshold above 20 m and a frequency of 10 s
• The phone can stay in your pocket — you will hear the voice alerts and feel the vibrations
• The flag icon on the Start button shows that Adventure Mode is on

Training journal

Browse your training history and plan group sessions:

• Main menu → Training journal
• Monthly statistics at the top: my trails, dog trails, organisation trails
• “Journal” tab — a chronological trail list with distance, time, rating and weather
• “Sessions” tab (Premium) — upcoming and past group sessions
• Sessions: title, date, time, place, OSM pin, participant list and invite code

Map ruler

Measure distances directly on the map, without recording a trail:

1. Tap the ruler icon in the top-left corner of the map screen
2. Tap points on the map — each new point draws a segment and the running total updates immediately
3. Tap the ruler again to stop drawing — the line and distance stay on screen
4. Another tap hides the distance while the line stays visible
5. One more tap clears everything and returns to the idle state

The ruler remembers the drawn line when you return to the map — handy for marking out a route for the person hiding, so they roughly follow the planned trail.

Tips and best practices

• 

  GPS accuracy

  Wait for GPS calibration — the “GPS OK” icon. In open terrain accuracy is around 5 m; in a forest it can be worse. Don’t cover the GPS antenna at the top of the phone.

• 

  Battery

  GPS tracking uses about 10–15% of battery per hour. Take a power bank for long sessions. The app works in the background, so you can lock the screen.

• 

  GPX export

  Exported GPX files open in Google Earth, Strava, Garmin Connect and OsmAnd. Useful for analysis or for sharing trails.

• 

  Data backup

  All trails are saved on the server. You can log in on another device and access your full history.

• 

  Location permissions

  For background GPS tracking: on Android set location to “Always”; on iPhone choose “While Using the App” and turn on “Precise Location”.

• 

  GPS in the forest

  In dense forest the GPS signal can be weaker. If the trail “jumps”, increase the recording frequency to 3 seconds and wait for a better signal.

• 

  Offline maps

  OpenStreetMap loads tiles online. If you train without internet the map may be empty, but GPS still works — the trail is saved anyway.

• 

  Synchronisation

  After finishing a trail make sure you have internet — it uploads to the server automatically. Without internet it is saved locally.

• 

  SOS alert

  Add emergency contacts before you head out. If you get lost send an SOS — contacts receive two notifications with your location updated every 2 minutes.

• 

  SOS notifications

  Enable app notifications in your phone settings. When one of your contacts sends an SOS you get an instant alert with their location on the map.

• 

  Dog events (Premium)

  Set reminders for vaccinations and deworming in advance, for example 14–30 days. Every day at 9:00 you get a notification about upcoming dates.

• 

  Training sessions (Premium)

  Plan a session in advance. Pick participants from your organisation or generate a code and send it to a friend — they just enter it.

• 

  Map ruler

  Tap the ruler in the top-left corner of the map and tap points — the distance adds up live. The measurement persists even after returning to the menu.

• 

  Map compass

  Turn it on in Map options — it is off by default. The compass rose shows cardinal directions and the bearing in degrees; the Mini variant is just a needle. It works in landscape too.