What started as a life-altering traumatic brain injury led to a new way of healing for one Santa Barbara County resident.

Local Mads Cantu has launched Dog Gym, a program that focuses on building dog-owner relationships under a mobile model rather than at a fixed facility.

It intentionally moves away from traditional training models centered on obedience and correction, according to Dog Gym’s Director of Services Natalia Baker. Instead, it operates more like a coaching system, focusing on strengthening the relationship between dogs and their humans.

Baker said the approach avoids a one-size-fits-all structure, emphasizing that each dog and owner comes with different histories, needs and goals.

Cantu’s Story

In 2019, Cantu was working in a veterinary emergency room when they hit their left temple on an open cabinet door. 

They developed sensitivity to light, noise and large crowds. Everyday environments like bright indoor spaces, busy streets or social events quickly became overwhelming and physically draining.

Cantu spent three months in an inpatient rehabilitation facility and six months in outpatient therapy. They said they lost most of their friends and divorced their husband. Their kid, Eddie, went to live with Cantu’s mother, as Cantu was knocked back to a fifth-grade reading and comprehension level. 

“I had to learn how to do basic skills like how to use the shower, how to use kitchen appliances, and how to cook for myself,” Cantu said. 

Five years after the injury, while spending time at the Jodi House — a nonprofit that helps people with traumatic brain injuries — Cantu noticed that many people had service dogs.

That’s when Anubis, a black Belgian Malinois mix from Santa Barbara Humane, came into their life. Anubis’ foster parent had said he would make a good service dog.

But after they got Anibus, Cantu realized that there weren’t a lot of places that they could take Anibus where they could safely train him and have positive interactions with other dogs.

Lying on their mother’s couch in Seattle, Cantu found themselves reflecting on a frustrating reality. They had taken Anubis, then five months old, out on a local trail. The pair encountered off-leash dogs with poor manners and a lack of safe space to properly train.

What should have been a simple outing instead highlighted a larger issue: modern dog owners often lack accessible, controlled environments to train and bond with their dogs, Cantu said.

That moment sparked an idea. Traditional leash regulations and urban living situations, particularly for those without yards, hinder training dogs beyond the limits of a six-foot leash. Although dog parks and off-leash zones are available, they don’t provide the necessary structure and safety for purposeful training, Cantu said.

From this vision, Cantu’s Dog Gym — a mobile model where people and their dogs could train, explore and grow together in nature — was born.  

The Dog Gym Model

At its core is a model rooted in canine history. Cantu said dogs were bred for specific jobs and purposes. When those instincts go unmet, behavioral issues such as anxiety, reactivity, and even abandonment can arise.

Using their background in sociology and veterinary experience, Cantu designed sessions that take place in natural environments like trails and open spaces where dogs and their humans can move, train and build a connection together.

Clients meet at designated outdoor spots across the region for small-group, guided experiences.

“The beauty of Dog Gym is also that our clubs have no formal start or end,” Cantu said. “Nor do we require a dog to be at a specific training level. The clubs are designed to be accessible and available to any person and any dog at any stage.” 

Sessions range in price from $30 to $150, depending on the type and if clients are new or returning.

Dog Gym currently serves between 15 and 20 clients. One is Noelle Medbery, who said she was introduced to the program by Baker after completing a basic manners course at Santa Barbara Humane.

Since joining in January, Medbery said the program has been life-changing for her dog, Oso. Oso is a German Shepherd mix with a difficult early history; he had limited human interaction and a serious injury.

“What we realized through working with Mads Cantu and Natalia is that Oso had never had the chance to build a trusting relationship with humans,” she said. “Listening to commands wasn’t going to come without a deep commitment to the relationship.”

She added that Dog Gym’s small-group trail sessions provided a structured and supportive alternative to traditional dog parks, helping Oso learn appropriate social behavior while building confidence.

“Oso is basically a different dog than when we first adopted him,” Medbery said. “So much more at ease and a happy boy.”

Cantu has also received support for the program from the community through donations.

Their local mechanic has donated tires for drills and activities of social clubs, along with brand new crates, to the Dog Gym Bus — Dog Gym’s mobile base of operations, where dogs are transported during day programs. 

Cantu said Dog Gym is “about loving and accepting my new self, and discovering that when I embrace who I am today, the beautifully unpaved trail leads me to an unexpected field of dogs, humans, community, and a future for Eddie and me.”

They added: “And we’re all blooming and blossoming together.”