I had a meet & greet with this pet owner 10 days ago. last night at 8:30 pm she text ed me “[my dog] is pregnant. She is being bred for pups. I will leave her prenatals on the counter. She gets 2 a day”. I feel blindsided - clearly she new she was breeding her dog when we met and when she posted her sit. These are not last minute decisions. I am apprehensive. The dog could have pregnancy difficulties - I did not sign up for the responsibility of a pregnant dog. And she is not a registered breeder which I personally find highly unethical and irresponsible ( which is another issue completely and I would not have accepted the sit had I known). TH needs a check box for 1) I am an unregistered dog breeder and 2) my dog may be pregnant when you arrive.
And to make it more interesting she is on a 9 day silent retreat. No communication at all during the day. I will not cancel at the last minute, not even a consideration. I am miffed. Should I raise my concerns to the pet owner?
You have already stated you will not consider cancelling so I guess you will just have to deal with any consequences.
Review accordingly.
Me too. I would cancel on this basis.
You have the option to cancel the sit as what was agreed at confirmation has changed. You have very legitimate concerns, yet you have said you are going to do it. Why? Is it the location or something else that is influencing your decision?
By doing the sit, you are, in effect, agreeing to the changes so, if anything does arise because of the dog being pregnant, that should not be taken into account in your review as you knew about the situation. Yes, the host should have been upfront when you did the meet and greet and confirmed the sit but you do not have to agree to this. It is the host’s problem to deal with if you cancel now.
I would cancel
You have every right to raise your concerns with the pet owner if you don’t feel fully comfortable with this new situation.
I have never sat for a pregnant dog, and don’t know much about it, so not sure how much it affects the day to day care.
Sitters are well within their rights to cancel if the responsibilities change from the time they confirmed.
You say you would not even consider cancelling the sit, so you just need to own the choice fully, and that will cut down on any resentment you feel towards the host for putting you in what you think is an unfair position.
It sounds like your decision to not cancel is based on principle, and ultimately you are free to do whatever you like. But I’m personally not a fan of doing things strictly for this reason as it is often largely ego-based, and tends to put us in situations that cause unnecessary inconvenience, stress, etc..
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
‘Miffed’?!?
You’re English aren’t you? 
the epitome of the understatement.
Did you immediately make a pot of tea 
to calm down?
I think you need to start writing your Review now, I’m not sure I’d use ‘miffed’ though, simply describe what you were presented with and let future potential sitters make of it what they will.
Accuracy of listing: 4*
You’ve already decided you’re not going to cancel. I’m sure you have your reasons.
To answer your actual question… Yes, you should raise your concerns. If the owner has already had a litter with this dog, maybe she can give you some insight into how this dog acts while pregnant. I don’t know if they’re moody and hormonal changes and all that?? These (and others like vet contacts, cc on account, decision maker in owner absence etc..) are great questions to ask her and you don’t have to be negative and unpleasant about it since you are committed to the sit. You should keep your own review in mind (as in HO review of you) since you’re going through with this.
If you are going ahead with the sit, I don’t see the point of starting with “I’m miffed.” You could tactfully tell her you wouldn’t have taken the sit if you had known and are concerned about the additional responsibilities. But even this just makes things acrimonious. In your shoes I’d cancel and if I had premium I’d at least try to get THS to pay as she clearly misrepresented the sit. (THS probably wouldn’t pay.)
If you do tell her that you are unhappy, tell her with a specific ask, but I don’t even know what would mitigate the situation.
We use “miffed” in the US often for effect. Maybe we got it from all those imported British period dramas.
@JulieV since you have decided to go ahead with the sit .. and the host will be uncontactable for 9 days .
I suggest that you confirmed that the host has an account set up with a 24/ 7 emergency vet - and that you are authorised in writing to make decisions about the pets health care if required during the sit ?
Alternatively have the host designate an emergency contact who will take care of all of the above ( pay vet fees , make decisions ) ?
THS terms of service say sitter must pay vet fees upfront - this could be very expensive .
I guess one of my concerns would be, is/can she be aggressive when pregnant? Hormonal surges and with a stranger…?
Make sure you have all necessary contact info and maybe ask her ro have a credit card on file with the vet, just in case.
Enjoy?
Raising your concerns would likely be pointless as the breeder has made her priorities known: She withheld the fact that her dog was recently bred and pregnancy was a possibility.
You can cancel, you know ? I certainly would as I find breeders (and prevaricators)…unlikeable.
Wow. So dog breeder (who presumably makes money off the dogs they breed) uses THS as a service to secure free petsitting for the animal they’re profiting from?
That is some serious cringe right there.
I’d think THS would be reluctant to have their brand anywhere near something like that.
That is awful. I do think THS should require a vet health certification for any pet listed on THS, including spay/neutered status. For intact dogs there should be a follow up explanation on breeding status.
How’s are things going @JulieV ?
I would cancel the sit and report such a host to THS.
Or fewer than 4* as you deem appropriate.
That HS met PP only 10 days prior to housesit strikes us as deliberate dishonesty.
That PP is somehow on no-contact 9-day retreat, given pet situation, seems astonishing.
To what end? There seems no credible possibility that PP accidentally forgot to tell you, 10 days ago, that their dog may be pregnant during housesit. Seems conscious, important disclosure. Seems that you have a choice to make about housesit. No ‘right’ answer here but choices.
The star system isn’t designed to be punitive though, and other aspects of the listing may have been pretty accurate, so it was simply the hormonal state of the dog that was ambiguous in the listing. Presumably it wasn’t mentioned either way….and maybe drop a star for communication too…
Stars should be describing the experience, well that’s my approach.
I am a German born Canadian and back in Germany the word ‘miffed’ is used there too -in some regions.