Can't remember the level. Quite a lot. I tried to get my endurance up so I could wear better armour. I haven't played since Sunday afternoon.
I just done the bloke with the 2 dogs.
That would be Capra Demon, so you're still pretty early on in the game.
What would you classify as a lot? Most people that play the game for PvP are at or around the SL120-125 range. If you're just beating Capra, I can't imagine that you'd be too far past SL30-35.
Depending on your soul level, I wouldn't worry too much about armor. It's better to be able to move quickly that it is to have marginally better protection. Until you get the Dark Wood Grain Ring (DWGR or Flip ring as you may see it in other places), I would try to keep my equip burden under 25%. Once you get the DWGR, you have faster movement speed and the fast roll is replaced with a ninja flip with the added benefit that the equip burden for that faster movement is no 50%*. The Ninja flip is also nice because it has invinvibility frames which allow you to Flip through people's (or the computer's) attacks.
A good strategy for character development is to level Str/Dex to whatever level you need to wield your weapon of choice, and then focus on Vitality and Endurance. Upgrade your weapon to Lightning/Fire or Chaos (for Chaos to be better than fire, you'll need 10 soft humanity, as a general rule). This should give you enough hitting power until you get enough souls to start moving towards a quality, dex, strength, faith or INT build.
Let me know if you have any questions on any of this stuff; I've spent way too much time playing both Demon's Souls and Dark Souls.
*Unless you're playing the PC edition. If you are, they nerfed DWGR so that it requires 25% or below.