Arnold Schwarzenegger Reveals Sweet Name His Granddaughters Call Him (Exclusive)

Schwarzenegger is granddad to his daughter Katherine's two kids, Eloise and Lyla

Arnold Schwarzenegger is revealing the special name that his grandkids call him.

While speaking to PEOPLE about his new motivational book Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life (on sale Oct. 10), the actor, 76, opened up about what his two grandkids refer to him as. Schwarzenegger is granddad to his daughter Katherine's kids, Eloise Christina, 16 months, and Lyla Maria, 3.

"Opa," the former governor of California says when asked about the name he uses with his grandkids, which is German for grandfather.

"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 tells PEOPLE.

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When Katherine and her daughters come over, Schwarzenegger says "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."

Aside from Cherry, Schwarzenegger has many different animals at his home, including a pet pig named Schnelly, a miniature horse named Whiskey and a miniature donkey named Lulu.

"Then I get the pig around and then she likes the pig and feeds the pig," the proud grandfather continues. "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."

The grandfather and granddaughter duo don't just share a love of animals — they are also both fans of the cookie he makes for his horses and the dogs. "Lyla would go and say, 'Can I have a cookie?' But it's not the regular chocolate chip cookies. It's the cookie that Lulu and Whiskey eat," he tells PEOPLE, referencing his two horses.

"So it's a specific oatmeal recipe. It has no sugar in it, just honey. And we make them for just the horses and the dogs, that we love, too," he says.

This isn't the first time that Schwarzenegger has opened up about his granddaughter's love for his animals. While speaking at An Evening with Arnold Schwarzenegger in June, the actor revealed that he had no idea his grandkids would inherit his love of animals.

"I never thought this is going to be the additional kind of joy they have because I just love animals because I grew up on a farm in Austria and I always enjoyed animals," he said.

"But I mean, my grandkids really loved it," he said. "And it gives me another way of kind of like really having them come to the house regularly. Having them enjoy themselves and then feed them."

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