Player Pets: Ryan Hartman and his two German Shepherds
Wild forward has had a dog since his first year in the minors
by Tyler Savitsky / Wild.com
Each month, Wild.com will feature a Minnesota Wild player and his pet(s). This series also appears in Wild Magazine.
Wild forward Ryan Hartman signed with the Wild in July and brought a pair of five-year-old German Shepherds with him from Nashville.
TS: How many pets do you have, and what breed are they?
RH: I have two dogs. Two female German Shepherds. One's Riley, one's Lena.
TS: How old are they?
RH: They're both five.
TS: Did you have them before signing with the Wild?
RH: I got one my first-year pro in the minors, I got a puppy, which wasn't a great idea at the time, but now it's paid off. We rescued a German Shepherd in Nashville, a four-year-old last year, when I was playing for the Predators. They're both now the same age.
TS: How hard has it been to move with the dogs?
RH: The one I got as a puppy, she's probably lived in nine or 10 houses. We've lived in a different house every summer, every season, so she's used to it. The other one, with being a rescue, she's a little anxious at times. She's only had to make two moves. I think, for her, the familiarity at one place is nice for the rescue dog.
TS: What do you like to do with them or are they any cool tricks that they can do?
RH: They're a pretty smart breed overall. I enjoy going out back with them and stuff. We have the one, my puppy, we trained her. She's kind of a, I wouldn't say self-defense, but she's trained to kind of, I wouldn't say disarm, I have handguns, I collect guns and stuff, but any type of gun, she goes after. So, it's kind of a cool thing if there's ever an intruder in the house, that she would attack and try to take the gun away.
TS: Is their diet strictly dog food? If not, what do they seem to like?
RH: You know, they were pretty good until we hosted a Super Bowl party and they got some human food in them. Now, they can't get enough of it. They always get our leftovers, it's only a couple pieces, so I'd probably say some red meat, if that's deer or steak. Anything like that, we try to give them a few pieces and throw some in their food bowl.