[Naturella]

Chris, my local pet boutique type stores sell trial sizes of Orijen and Acana for $3.99 per baggie and each one is .75 lbs. So you can buy a couple of these to try them out first.

As for mixing, I used to mix foods before. I have mixed up to 3 brands together in the past. Now I rotate with each small bag, but on occasion feed a meal or 2 per week of a different brand and flavor from samples for diversity. So you can do it either way. I have a friend who still mixes 2 brands and flavors at a time, and feeds that, then changes both brands and flavors, but still mixes them. So you can do either way… The only caveat to that is that if for any reason, now or down the road Sparky gets sick (loose stool, vomiting, etc.) you wouldn’t know which food caused it, unless you feed him more of each individually, or you’d have to toss the whole mix. Sometimes it is just a particular bag or batch that doesn’t work, so I would, for example, feed him Merrick for a month, then Orijen or something else for 2 weeks or however long a small bag lasts, then Merrick or something similar and affordable. And here are some good and affordable brands:
Earthborn Holistic GF, Victor GF, Dr. Tim’s both GF and grain-inclusive, Annamaet GF, and, in some areas, NutriSource GF (although it is pretty pricy here in the Atlanta, GA area). So if cost is a concern, you can try those foods instead of or in addition to Merrick and Orijen – they are pretty good.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 8 months ago by Naturella.