Our Story

Discover the story of
Karen Freeman Duet
& the foundation
of K-9 Companions.

K-9 Companions is a family-owned business founded in 1979 by Karen Freeman Duet. As a 12 year old Karen became hooked on dogs after a very successful run training and showing her first AKC Labrador Retriever in obedience trials. She and her Labrador “Sunny” were regularly beating the adults and were always in the ribbons. Together they were just a half point off from the coveted Will Judy Award (requiring a score of 195 or better in three shows). Their highest score being 199.5 out of 200 points.

The Journey

In 1979 at age 18, she started her business

After graduating high school early at age 17 Karen was working in a local law office when she met a man who trained dogs for a living. He was a graduate of the well known Stephen Cobb Business School of Dog Training. This course provided her with the business side of training that she needed. After saving the money to take his trainers course she successfully completed the course and then continued her education by apprenticing with other trainers and learning about European dog sports.

In 1979 at age 18 she started her business. Soon she has so much business that she had to hire assistant trainers and move from a home-based business into an office in Orange County California, and later into a kennel. During this time she continued to show and breed Rottweilers and obtained several titles in obedience and Championships in conformation. She also helped clients obtain titles.

Dog Trainers
Courses & Books

In 1985 Karen met and later married George Duet who was a U.S. Army Retired (Special Ops) warrior. In his 20 years in the Army he had been involved in the military K-9 program. He had been Kennel Master at Ft. Benning GA in 1965. Together they began to study French Ring Sport (Obedience, Agility, and Protection) and brought one of the first trainers from France to California as an ambassador to the sport.

Educating the Next Generation of Dog Trainers

After training her Belgian Malinois “Nana” in both French Ring and Schutzhund (Obedience, Tracking, and Protection), Karen wrote her first book: The Home & Family Protection Dog, followed by her next book, The Business Security K-9, in the 1990s.

Later, in 2000, she was asked by Macmillan Publishing (Howell Bookhouse) to pen the book Advanced Schutzhund, which was nominated for a Maxwell Award for excellence in writing.

She later authored Dog Training 101 (2007) as a manual for her growing training staff—which had increased to 19 employees—and for student dog trainers enrolled in her Dog Trainers Course.

Her most recent book, Million Dollar Dog Trainer: Making Millions in the Billion Dollar Pet Industry (2021), along with her new online course Become a Million Dollar Dog Trainer, focuses on the business side of dog training. This work and the online course have been available since 2022.

Published Books

The Business Security K-9: Selection and Training

Personal Protection Specialists

In 1992, George and Karen graduated from the Executive Protection Institute in Berryville, Virginia, and were certified as Personal Protection Specialists. This was a logical next step for them, as they had already been asked to use dogs professionally in the protection of celebrities, executives, and dignitaries.

Since George had a background in security from his time in the military, the integration of K-9s with Executive Protection made perfect sense. For the next 20 years, the Duets operated a side business providing protection services for dignitaries, corporations, and celebrities—on contracts that ranged from a single day to several years in length.

Over their two-decade career in the industry, the Duets provided Force Protection for the U.S. Navy with an explosives detection K-9, handled narcotics and explosives detection for a major television studio for over a decade, managed daily corporate security for a major U.S. corporation over a five-year period, and carried out numerous celebrity and dignitary protection assignments.

They were training well over 100 dogs & clients at any given time …

From 1994-2016 the Duets ran a beautiful facility in Lake Mathews California. The business grew until they were forced to expand to a second facility using a Sprinter Van running between locations for pick up and delivery.

Between the two locations and keeping up with the in home lessons that followed, they were training well over 100 dogs and clients at any given time. Having 19 employees and a secondary facility to be concerned with became stressful so in 2016 the Duets determined to sell the California facility and move permanently to Nashville, Tennessee.

They had already set up a location there in 2010 for their son Travis. George Duet had been stationed at Ft. Campbell for a time, Karen’s ancestors had been pioneers who established Clarksville and Nashville, their oldest son Troy had graduated from Belmont University, and youngest son Travis had wanted to strike out on his own as a dog trainer in Nashville.

All the stars seemed to align and point towards Nashville. Fort Campbell being so close, the Duets knew that they would have plenty of soldiers in need of the Service Dog aspect of their business. For all those reasons Nashville was a logical choice for the Duet family.

Exclusive K-9 training boutique in Nashville

In 2016, George and Karen moved permanently to Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. They determined that at this stage in their lives, they would create a very exclusive K-9 training boutique.

The totally indoor, state-of-the-art facility—located on Old Hickory Lake—is secluded and offers clients beauty and privacy along with one-on-one attention. Celebrity clients enjoy a private atmosphere where they can relax with their dog and learn training in peace and privacy. Service dog and therapy dog owners can enjoy the same level of privacy and personalized service.

Dog runs are state-of-the-art stainless steel on epoxy flooring, with central air, heat, and an air exchange system. The dogs even listen to country music from some of their famous clients and can train indoors in comfort, no matter what the weather is like outside. The runs can accommodate dogs of all sizes—from the smallest to the largest.

Yes, family dogs are welcome too! Advance reservations are suggested, as this facility is uniquely—and purposefully—small, with only 10–12 dogs being trained at any one time. This helps keep the dogs free of viruses due to the low numbers and allows plenty of time and reduced stress while they are being trained by Karen and her talented assistants.

UPDATE: As of 2026 K-9 Companions Boot Camp will be franchising across the United States.