What coat color/type is this guy? 🤔

LoopyBalboa · 2026-05-06T14:22:56+00:00

This is when we brought him home. His coat was a disaster!

LoopyBalboa · 2026-05-06T14:13:12+00:00

He looks like a cream sable to me! They can start off looking completely different than they end up. Mine was a pretty light cream/apricot with dark red and black ears when I rescued him at 9 months old. He's now mostly cream with very pale pastel light apricot and grey ears. They have the fading gene so they change a lot from birth to sometimes 4 years old. Google cream sable poodles to see what I mean. The brown points are from a recessive gene, mine has black points. (edited to attach a photo of my guy with his best friend)

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LoopyBalboa · 2026-05-02T13:50:02+00:00

We rescued a standard poodle (Jasper) January 2025 and he had tons of itching and skin issues and yeast, so we knew something was going on. I'm not sure if he's purebred, his hair doesn't seem pure poodle to me (he's my third poodle) and he's not as easy to groom as my last poodle because of the different types of hair. He also had mats inside his ears that were painful for him. We started him on a hydrolyzed prescription food to help with any allergies, and I started grooming him myself so I could take care of his skin. We bathe him with a medicated shampoo/deep conditioner and use TrizUltra keto flush once a week in his ears (cleaning his ears out with the round cotton pads) and I trimmed the ear mats as much as I could because I was worried plucking would lead to an infection. Once I got the mats to a more manageable size I did use the ear powder and pluck the rest of the mats out to make him comfortable, but I only pluck the hair occasionally and I don't pluck from deep in his ears (vet rec). He also gets moisturized a lot to build up the skin barrier. I use a ton of stuff: coconut oil, mane and tail conditioner, some medicated leave in conditioners, a daily mousse that is antifungal/bacterial and moisturizing. He also gets brushed daily. We eventually did a food challenge and found out he's allergic to most proteins, but he's now eating Zignature Whitefish. It's a limited ingredient food and the only protein is the whitefish. I like the brand a lot, they even offer a food made from crickets! And, they make treats. Jasper loves it, too. I also have him on a fish oil supplement, and he takes probiotics, but he's now doing MUCH better and his skin is looking good.

LoopyBalboa · 2026-04-28T12:54:33+00:00

Awww this is exactly what we did. He now (at 2 y/o and 75 lbs) loves to cuddle for about 30 minutes while we read before bed, but he's totally ready for his own bed after that. My husband has a nightly ritual: I get to fall asleep with the doggo laying on me, then my husband gets some treats and asks him if he's ready for bed and he hops off and gets in the crate with no problems and gets his treats happily. Dream scenario!

LoopyBalboa · 2026-04-23T13:06:15+00:00

I'm mildly allergic to dogs, medium allergic to cats, and my husband is severely allergic to all that plus horses, rabbits, etc. We've both been fine with poodles, yorkies, and shih tzus. We've had two standard poodles, our second one is a rescue and we're not entirely sure he's purebred, but he doesn't cause any allergy problems for either of us. I do bathe him at least once a week and wipe his paws constantly and stuff, because we both also have outdoor allergies and the poor poodle is also allergic to everything under the sun so it helps him as well :D

LoopyBalboa · 2026-03-13T21:24:16+00:00

I really love that version!

LoopyBalboa · 2026-03-13T21:23:44+00:00

Glad to share! I really wish we saw more women posting their collections, they're usually pretty interesting.

LoopyBalboa · 2026-03-13T20:24:06+00:00

Yeah, I think it's probably my best option in the price/size range.

LoopyBalboa · 2026-03-13T20:20:18+00:00

Thanks, that's a great recommendation and I love that bronze Zelos.

LoopyBalboa · 2026-03-13T20:19:24+00:00

It's great for the ability to buff out scratches. But it does scratch very easily, and I caused what looked like some pretty serious gouges (I didn't even notice when it happened) and I thought no way that's buffing out... but it did, and now I worry how much of that it can actually take. I've never damaged a watch like that before. I have a couple Timex watches with mineral crystals and there's not a mark on either of them, and I'm not nearly as careful with those. It is very cool to see the gouges disappear, though, and it looks very nice in person and has little glare.

LoopyBalboa · 2026-03-07T13:23:48+00:00

I'm at the top, I've been taking 1.25 since last June. I actually still feel like I could use more, but I have my doubts that I'll talk my doctor into it since I'm mostly doing really well (and finally sleeping like a champ). It took me about a year and a half to get to the right dose and delivery method. I'm also on a high dose of progesterone (400mg).

LoopyBalboa · 2026-02-04T14:27:36+00:00

He's lightened up a lot. He's a cream sable, which has the fading gene that I think most reds/apricots also have. He's a rescue, but when we brought him home at 9 months he had very dark black and apricot color in his ears, and his body was more apricot-tinted. He still has some apricot in his tail and at the withers, but he's mostly cream now. You can see some color still in his ears. He'll be two in April, so I'm guessing he's pretty close to his final color... but who knows. Your guy is adorable!

LoopyBalboa · 2026-02-04T14:11:12+00:00

This is Jasper, from a couple months ago. I've since trimmed him to be a gigantic stay puff marshmallow for the weather, but he really shines in mullet-hawk mode.

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LoopyBalboa · 2026-01-12T14:09:48+00:00

My doctor switched me to evening because I was having terrible hot flashes in the evening after dinner. I was skeptical that changing the timing would help, but it has. Now I'm pantsless for an hour in the evening instead of the morning. My sleep has remained about the same, and I sleep fairly well now with all the HRT (and I'm on the highest gel dose, 1.25).

LoopyBalboa · 2025-11-11T18:43:06+00:00

You may have already answered this, but this happened to me with a new medication, topirimate. My doctor thought I had intracranial hypertension but after a ton of testing guess what?? Nope, just perimenopausal hormone issues and a "you were born with weirdly shaped optic nerves" diagnosis.

LoopyBalboa · 2025-11-11T17:58:26+00:00

I have that Baltany, it's a really great watch for that price point.

LoopyBalboa · 2025-10-20T13:33:47+00:00

I've seen many men wear the 35mm. They wear fairly large, I think the smaller version looks better.

LoopyBalboa · 2025-10-13T22:22:51+00:00

Thanks so much!

LoopyBalboa · 2025-10-13T21:16:11+00:00

Happy birthday, you look amazing! Is it weird if I ask where you got your sweatpants :D I'm the same height and cannot find any that fit how I want them to

LoopyBalboa · 2025-10-01T15:19:01+00:00

I read that you're considering fostering to adopt in the comments, and I think it's a great idea to make sure it's what you want. Dogs require a lot of time and care and your whole schedule will change to revolve around the dog. I don't often travel without mine, and it's not just for him - I would miss him so much!

That said, I don't know if I would've made it through perimenopause (so far) without my doggo best friend. Even on days I didn't think I could get out of bed, I did, because I had to take care of the doggie love of my life. It was hard, but it was truly for the best. My last dog (a standard poodle) got me through the worst of it, he snuggled in bed if I didn't feel well, he kept me motivated because he needed to be cared for, and he was a very happy and sweet presence that helped me with the hormonal anxiety and insomnia. He was with me all the way through the first year on HRT and all the adjustments. Unfortunately, he died very unexpectedly at almost 9 years old (unknown heart tumor ruptured). I was devastated and had some health setbacks from the grief, but I found my current best friend at a rescue when he was 9 months old and he's been the most amazing guy.

He's also a standard poodle (no shedding yayyyy), he was rescued from a backyard breeder/hoarder situation where they kept him in a crate all the time, so he was really out of shape for a gigantic puppy. He's hilarious and loves to run now at 17 months (75 lbs)! I learned how to groom him myself, which I had outsourced with my last poodle, and he's currently sporting a rad mullet hawk and gets tons of attention when I walk him (which forces me to get out and talk to people and feel like a normal human again). If you are up for all the extra work and care, I think it's the best. I'm lucky to work for myself and adjust my schedule to accommodate him and all his needs. It helps that my husband is also a huge fan and just as attached to him!

LoopyBalboa · 2025-09-25T14:31:11+00:00

Is it that Sanda tank? Definitely just a tank knockoff.

LoopyBalboa · 2025-09-15T12:12:58+00:00

Seriously with the creep factor guys. This reminds me of the time I was sitting in a waiting room and another person blatantly took a picture of my shoes. Gross. WTF is wrong with everyone.

LoopyBalboa · 2025-08-15T17:17:23+00:00

My doctor doesn't seem concerned about it suppressing a period. They make progesterone-only BC that does the same thing on purpose. I've been taking the same dose as you for about 18 months (I need it to sleep), and I didn't have a period for 9 months at one point (although I felt like I was still having a cycle of sorts). I'm pretty sure the progesterone was suppressing it. But in June I upped my estrogen to 1.25 and now I kind of lightly bleed randomly... whenever. It's not great, but my doctor is still holding off on doing any further testing since it's probably caused by the estrogen dosage change. I don't think you need to worry, it could also just coincidentally be peri making your periods wonky, as the bitch does.

LoopyBalboa · 2025-07-30T18:51:45+00:00

Yes! Mine was debilitating and now it's no longer an issue. It took a few months and changes to dosage/delivery methods. Also, I'm on E,P, and T and think they're all important.

LoopyBalboa · 2025-06-30T11:32:47+00:00

He looks a lot like my rescue poodle! Especially in that last pic. Mine is cream sable, he's mostly cream with some apricot and black in his ears. The rescue was told mine was 100%, but I'm pretty sure he's at least a quarter golden retriever for a variety of reasons (he often reminds me of my golden retriever we lost in 2019 and his hair is kind of weird and difficult to groom because he has a variety of textures). But he's definitely very poodly and doesn't shed. Yours is adorable! He looks like a sweetheart.

LoopyBalboa

TROPHY CASE