Arnold Schwarzenegger was worried he would struggle to bond with grandchildren

Los Angeles, Oct 1 (IANS) Hollywood icon Arnold Schwarzenegger was uncertain "how good" he would be as a grandparent.

The 76-year-old Hollywood star has grandchildren Eloise Christina, 16 months, and three-year-old Lyla Maria through his daughter Katherine, 33, and was initially unsure how he would fit into his new family role at the time but has found that things are "easy" because he has a lot of pets for them to bond with, reports aceshowbiz.com. 

"It's just such a fun thing to do because it's kind of like I (didn't) know how good I would be (at being a grandfather) but I have the animals so it's an easy thing," he told People.

The ‘Terminator’ star went on to add that his eldest grandchild, who has decided to nickname him "Opa", insists on seeing his dog Cherry when she comes over before he takes her to feed the pigs and meet the horses at his LA mansion.

The actor said: "The first thing that Lyla would say is, 'Where's Cherry?' Which is my little dog. I say, 'Cherry's waiting for you.' 'Mommy, can we go over to see Opa, to see Cherry?' 'Sure, we go tomorrow.' So they come over: 'Cherry, Cherry, Cherry' and she holds Cherry in her lap."

"Then I get the pig around and then she likes the pig and feeds the pig. Then I said 'You want to come out? Let's go out to the stable and see the horses.' Okay, then take my hand and then we walk out to the fields and she goes to the stables and she visits the horses.”

“Lyla would go and say, 'Can I have a cookie?' But it's not the regular chocolate chip cookies. It's the cookie that (my horses) Lulu and Whiskey eat."