Business Applications of Operations Research

CHAPTER 9

Blending of Dog Diet

Let us take the problem of preparing a dog’s daily diet by mixing appropriate quantities of raw meat, brown rice, and vegetables to meet the diet requirements at the minimum cost.

A 80 pound dog requires a minimum of 2000 calories per day along with a diet in which the protein content should range from 1–40% of diet by weight, carbohydrate content should range from 5–55% of diet by weight, and vegetable content should range from 1.5–25% of diet content by weight.

Raw meat contains 15% protein by weight and 60 calories per ounce. Brown rice contains 25% carbohydrates by weight and 30 calories per ounce. Vegetables contain 10 calories per ounce. The cost of raw meat, brown rice, and vegetables is 12, 80, and 150 per ...