So, what kind of private care is out there for your pets?

Although we all love our animals, managing their well being on a day to day basis can be challenging. They are, after all, a big responsibility and require planning and organisation. Whether you are in a full-time job, or if you are at home. Making sure your pet stays stimulated and active all day can be extremely time-consuming. Let alone the limitations of bookings holidays or that spontaneous weekend away.

There are many options to help in caring for your pets. Things such a daycare and dog walking. And services where people will pop into your house to take your pets for a quick wee or top up their food. These are all great options, but can come with its limitations. Perhaps your pet is not very comfortable with many other animals around him. So that would exclude daycare or walks with many other dogs there. Also, with these big setups there sometimes also can be a lack of personal attention for your pet when they need it. And the risk of them disappearing into the background. Finally, if you are having your pet in full-time care, it can get expensive quite quickly. Alternative options are out there, and can be much more suited. This is why you should hire private care for your pets!

Alternative options for pet care

Saving money: Dual roles

There are alternative options out there that you might not even know existed. A great option to get more value for your money is looking at hiring someone privately who covers a dual role. Here you can think about Nanny/pet care, Housekeeper / Pet care, or even a PA/pet care.

If you are looking for a new housekeeper/nanny/PA for your household or looking to replace existing staff. This might be the time to look for someone who is highly experienced working with animals in previous jobs.

Before you hire private care for your pets, make sure to have a realistic look at all the non-pet related tasks you would want them to fulfill. Make an overview of these tasks and have a look how that can fit in with caring for your pets.

But the options are more flexible that you might think. If you have a full-time housekeeper, nanny or PA, pet care can fit quite well within their day. Taking care of your pet will simply become a part of their tasks. They will be spending lots of time in your house already. Knowing the family routine and making the pets feel comfortable around them. Whilst you are out, travelling or at work they will be able to provide your pets with the much-needed stability, routine, and attention.

And when you and your family are away on a trip, you can leave your pets in the trusted care of the PA/nanny/housekeeper. Knowing that not only they will be in safe, familiar hands. Your house will be looked after too!

Specialist Private Pet Care

Another option is looking at specific care for your pets. If you are in no need of other staff, or you might already have this in place, having a specific person who looks after your pets can be an extremely worthy investment. It consists of so much more than just walking a dog, feeding a cat, or cleaning a cage here. You can find someone who has solid knowledge with the specific animal you have, and their sole job will be the care and wellbeing of them.

Dog training can also be a part of this. Your dog might be struggling with structure or obedience. An older animal that has health issues and needs close monitoring or rehabilitation after an operation, or getting used to medication. Or simply stimulation, love and activities on a daily basis that you might not be able to offer in your busy day to day schedule.

Having someone specifically there for your pet creates a tailor made environment which can be especially helpful if there are any issues, worries, concerns or if you just want to make sure that your beloved pet gets all the best attention in the world!

How can Polo & Tweed Help?

We love all animals at Polo & Tweed! We have a lot of lovely, experienced pet carers on our books. As well as Nannies, Housekeepers, and PAs who are great and experienced caring for pets. Why not get in touch to chat with one of us about the options. We offer short term (think: last-minute cover for a day, a weekend, or longer periods) and part-time/full-time staff who will keep you and your pets very happy!

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So, what actually is a Housekeeper?

Responsibilities of a Housekeeper

Firstly it is important to know that a housekeeper can be an all-encompassing term for a wide variety of tasks. It really depends on the household and what is needed, what the housekeeping tasks may be.

First things first though: a Housekeeper is not a cleaner. There are many differences between a housekeeper and a cleaner, which you can read in more detail here. But mainly you should know that a housekeeper is so much more.

In general, the housekeeper is responsible for the full cleaning and upkeep of the whole house. This goes from all cleaning including deep cleaning of the house. But also the day to day running of the house can be a part of if. The clue is in the wording really, they keep up the house. This can include finishing touches such as fresh flowers, or the family’s favourite candles being lit. Making the bed every morning and prep the bedroom for the evening. Basically, making sure the house looks and feels homely, and everything is running smoothly.

Some housekeepers can even be in charge of shopping, meal prep and cooking, and child to pet care. It really depends on the household and what is needed.

Housekeeper Duties

• Organisation and general tidying of all areas of the house
• Inventory of housekeeping cleaning products
• Upkeep and general maintenance (or sending for repair) of the housekeeping tools
• All general cleaning, both deep and upkeep of all the rooms in the property
• Deep cleaning inside appliances
• Emptying rubbish and bins
• Laundry, ironing and wardrobe management
• Clothing care, repairs and sending clothes to the dry cleaners
• Window care and cleaning
• Pet care, including feeding, walking, and taking to the vet
• Potential (light) childcare, assisting with children or babysitting
• Light gardening
• Dealing with contractors and deliveries
• Cooking, from simple daily cuisine through to more advanced dinner parties and events
• Running errands, shopping, and other relevant duties/tasks
• Managing inventory and stock keeping
• Admin, paperwork, and organisation
• House sitting and property care when the principals are travelling, or away from the home

What a Housekeeper should not do

When looking at what a housekeeper is, let’s also look at what they shouldn’t do to understand the boundaries!

1. Heavy lifting and moving furniture
2. Climbing without health and safety precautions in place
3. Cleaning up human or pet faeces without necessary health and safety precautions in place
4. Bring their own cleaning equipment. (A cleaner might do this, a housekeeper doesn’t)
5. Anything illegal!

Housekeeper Combination Roles

As you might have seen from the long list of tasks above, a Housekeeper can really be an extremely varied job. Depending on the household, a Housekeeping job might include things such as pet care or childcare. Cooking and meal prep is another popular combination role you can find.

When looking at hiring a Housekeeper, ask yourself what is important. Each candidate will come with their own unique set of skills and background, so make sure which of the abovementioned tasks really stand out for you. So you can make a pre-selection from there. If you know you want your Housekeeper to help out with the children, make sure they have either done this before or are definitely comfortable around children.

If you want your new housekeeper to cook and prep meals, again make sure they can do this. Some housekeepers can be amazing cooks, but that doesn’t mean they all automatically are! Finally, another thing housekeepers tend to pick up a lot is household admin. Find a housekeeper who is naturally organised if this is one of your priorities. The Housekeeper can act as a family PA – booking flights, reminding you of appointment, sorting shopping and restaurant bookings too.

Salary of a Live-In Housekeeper

As with any staff member, more experience and specific skills come at a higher salary range. The following gives you an indication of UK level salaries for live-in Housekeepers. Please note that this can still vary depending on the package, background and situation.

Entry Level/Less Experienced candidate with 2-4 years of experience. 

• £430 – £580 gross per week
• £21,000 – £30,000 gross per year

Mid Level/More Experienced candidate with 4-8 years of experience.  

• £580 – £820 gross per week
• £31,000 – £40,000 gross per year

High Level/Very Experienced candidate with 8+ years of experience.  

• £820+ net per week
• £41,000+ gross per year

Salary of a Live-Out Housekeeper

If you are looking to hire a live-out Housekeeper, the below salaries can give you an indication for the UK. If you hire a new member of staff, make sure you are up to date on all government regulations on how to pay them correctly.

Entry Level/Less Experienced Live out candidate with 2-4 years of experience.

• £510 – £740 gross per week
• £25,000 – £38,000 gross per year

Mid Level/More Experienced Live out candidate with 4-8 years of experience.  

• £740 – £980 gross per week
• £38,000 – £50,000 gross per year

High Level/Very Experienced Live out candidate with 8+ years of experience.  

• £980+ gross per week
• £51,000+ gross per year

How can Polo & Tweed help?

Are you looking to hire a Housekeeper? Why not let Polo & Tweed do all the hard work for you! With a team of dedicated and passionate recruitment consultants, Polo & Tweed have a worldwide network fo outstanding housekeepers. They will guide you through the whole process taking the stress away from you completely. You can sit back, relax, and select the right new staff member for you.

To understand how we work or to get a search started, please do get in touch with us here. One of our experienced recruitment consultants will be in touch to help you further!

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So how do you keep your house clean with pets?

Create a Pet Cleaning Area

To stop any mud or dirt from your pet coming in from the outside. Make sure you have an area near your house entrance to clean your pet. This can be indoors or outdoors and can be as simple as having a couple of towels in a corner to brush off any wetness or dirt. Wet wipes could work too. Outside could be a hosepipe to hose off muddy paws or a brush. And maybe some yummy treats!

Clean your pet

Let’s start with the culprit itself! Whatever breed, a dog or cat will need regular grooming in one way or another. Whether it is a complete bath with shampoo or just a quick brush, make sure you have a routine set up. You’d be surprised how much mud can hide in paws and under nails – and how they can bring that all in the house!

Besides that, make sure to brush and maintain their coats regularly. Some pets might need professional grooming, maybe you can do it yourself. Make sure you keep this up though because it can make a big difference in how much they shed hair all over the place. A great way to keep your house clean with pets! You can read more about grooming your pet here.

Cover your seating area

Do you like your pets sitting on your sofa with you? Great! Some people might even have their pets sleeping on the bed with them. Whatever works for you, just make sure you have certain setups in place to keep things clean. For both your sofas and your bed – think about getting a nice looking blanket or cover that you can protect the material with. You really do not want scratchy nail marks on your luxury leather sofa! Covering it with a nice throw that can be washed can be a great solution.

Same goes for the bed. Before you go to bed, or after you get up, make sure to cover your duvet and sheets with a pet-friendly throw. This way you will not get any pet hairs in your sheets, which can be notoriously difficult to get off! Pick a nice-looking throw so that it matches your interior and keeps your house clean too. Your pets will be comfortable, so a win-win!

Clean your pets items

Keeping your pet clean is one thing. But keeping its toys, bedding and litter tray clean is another very important thing! And key to keep your house clean with pets. Wash your pet’s blankets, their beds, and their toys. All of this will contain bacteria they will bring in from outside. If they are not machine washable, you can hand wash in the sink and hang to dry.

Get rid of bad smells

There are lots of great products available nowadays to keep interior as well as furniture and fabrics smelling fresh and clean. Having pets in the house can sometimes contribute to funky smells. So having items in place to neutralise odours is a great way of giving the house a clean feel. If you like scented candles that can be an option too!

Keep your washing machine clean

If you have pets who regularly jump on the chairs, sofas and beds, or like to cuddle up with you, it really is inevitable. You will start finding pet hairs in all your laundry! A good washing machine can do a lot to remove hairs, but they are really stubborn. And it can really clog up your washing machine too!

Before you put items in the wash, make sure to try and remove as much hair off the items before they go in. You can use a lint roller to get hair off or a good vacuum cleaner can do the trick too.

With your washing machine, make sure you clean the inside, outside and the door after each wash. Also, let the washing machine dry properly. You can hoover leftover hairs out of the drum and the door. This way you can make sure there won’t be any more hairs coming into your next load of laundry!

Invest in a  good vacuum cleaner

They might not come cheap, but specialist pet vacuum cleaners really can make a great difference. A great pet or allergy vacuum cleaner will suck up even the smallest of hairs, dust from your pets and fight nasty odours. There are so many things your pets bring in you won’t be able to see – but a specialist vacuum cleaner will be able to get to! Especially if you have rugs or carpets, a good vacuum cleaner is an absolute must to keep your house clean with pets.

How can Polo & Tweed Help?

However helpful these tips might be – keeping your house clean can still be a large task in your already busy day. It might be a great option to look at hiring a housekeeper. Not only will they be able to keep your house sparkling clean – they can also help with any pet related tasks such as walking the dog.

Polo & Tweed have an outstanding selecting of excellent housekeepers in the database – ready to come work for you and care for your lovely pets! To find out more about how the process works and how to find a new housekeeper for your household, do contact us here now and we look forward to speak to you!

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