Be careful when you look into this German Spitz pup's eyes. Princess, her owner says, has a stare that can hypnotize humans. A way to get more treats, perhaps?
Krystyna Lennon, Princess' owner, claims that the four-year-old dog is the only hypno-dog in the UK and the world. Certified in hypnosis herself, Lennon says that it goes back to a dog's natural ability to hypnotize their prey when they are hunting.
Although there are skeptics who say that it's all just an act, Lennon says that Princess' abilities are real. Some people apparently even think that Princess is not a real dog but a puppet.
"A lot of people are very skeptical about the show and don't think that a dog would be able to do it -- but once they see it, they are gobsmacked," Lennon says.
Lennon explains that being hypnotized by Princess feels almost like getting drunk. People become more open and susceptible to suggestion, with some more easily hypnotized than others.
Princess and Lennon are currently on tour in the UK, a show that Lennon inherited from her uncle, Hugh Lennon, who is retired from the hypno-dog act at 65 years old. The single mother of three gave up her job in order to focus on the show full time.
Lennon says she started out helping her uncle with the lights and sounds of his show with the original hypno-dog, Oscar, a black Labrador Retriever whom she said helped her have a pain-free childbirth in 1996 through hypnosis.
When she took over the show from her uncle, her familiarity with Princess as her own dog made the show easier for her so the original duo retired.
The one-of-a-kind hypno-dog show seems to be doing well because future shows are in the works in Dubai and Australia.
