The Ross Sea Party began with twenty-six powerful sledge dogs. Many of these died during the first season because of the men’s inexperience. Only six survived to help with the even more demanding second season. This hard-working team almost certainly saved the men from death out on the ice as they battled over more than 1500 miles of hostile territory.

Why dogs? In the early days of polar exploration, it was unusual to use sledge dogs to pull supplies. Some explorers thought that the only way to do the job properly was to man-haul the sledges. Others used ponies There were also some early experiments with motor sledges, but these were usually unreliable. Shackleton had had great success with dogs on an earlier trip and was convinced that they would make the Ross Sea Party’s job easier.

A mixed pack Shackleton bought sixty-nine sledge dogs for the expedition from the Hudson’s Bay Company in Canada. Twenty-six of them were allocated to the Ross Sea Party. A mix of breeds, many of the dogs were old and infested with parasites. But ranging from sixty to one hundred pounds, they were all powerful. Keeping them under control was a real challenge.

Short-lived fame After the dogs arrived in London from Canada, Shackleton paraded them through the streets in a fleet of wagons advertising “Spratt’s Dog Cakes”. Designed to raise support and money for his expedition, the outing was a big success and enhanced Shackleton’s reputation as a showman.

Getting to know you The men had to start building relationships with the dogs on board the ‘Ionic’ as they sailed south to Australia. But the untrained animals were badly behaved and many of the men were nervous of them. Already irritable after their long journey from Canada, the dogs suffered from the heat as the ship sailed through the tropics. Cooped up in their cages, they snarled at anyone who came close to them. The fact that they had been delivered without nametags made things worse – none of the dogs answered to the new names the men gave them.

What’s all this white stuff? When the ‘Aurora’ arrived in Antarctica, Mackintosh expected the dogs to start pulling the sledges straightaway, but they were out of condition from the long months on board ship and not used to the freezing weather. Joyce argued that they needed time to get fit and become used to the snow before setting off, but Mackintosh insisted on going ahead almost immediately.

Teamwork and training The dogs had never worked as a team before getting to Antarctica and spent a lot of time fighting and being difficult. The only man in the party with any real dog-handling experience was Joyce. Almost from day one, he battled with Mackintosh about how to look after the animals and get the best from them. Mackintosh overloaded their sledges and whipped them, while Joyce preferred to give them extra rations and rest.

Jock’s story On the outward journey in the first sledging season, one of Mackintosh’s dogs – Jock – rebelled so badly that he was left tied up to a pole in the snow. Coming along later, Joyce’s party found the abandoned animal and adopted him. With more caring treatment, Jock soon became one of their best dogs. Seeing this, Mackintosh reclaimed him, only for Jock to die a short time later.

Dead Dog Trail On the way back from the first sledging season, most of the dogs died of shock, hunger and exhaustion. Over one stretch, six lay down in the snow and gave up the fight to live. Wild said that they would have to name their route ‘Dead Dog Trail’.

Pulling power Mackintosh was so disappointed by the dogs’ performance on the first sledging season that he didn’t want to take them out for the second run. Luckily Joyce eventually persuaded him. Now that they had been trained and were used to the conditions, the dogs did much better, helping the men to cover more ground than the previous year. Their pulling power was one of the main reasons that the party managed to get all the depots in place.

Driven mad by hunger As the party headed back from the gruelling second sledging season, there wasn’t enough food for either the men or dogs. Driven mad by hunger and thirst, the dogs chewed through their harnesses, eating the leather and even swallowing the metal fixings in their desperation to fill their stomachs.

Emotionally scarred? After arriving back from the second sledging season, the surviving dogs got their physical strength back quite quickly. But, like the men, they had suffered terribly and the stress still showed. Some of the dogs fought constantly. One – Conrad – was torn apart by three mongrels and bled to death in the snow. Nell was so traumatised that she killed some of her own puppies before Gaze decided to shoot her and end her suffering.

At the zoo After the ‘Aurora’ rescued the surviving men and dogs, they all had a rapturous welcome in New Zealand. Two of the dogs – Oscar and Towser– ended up as a great attraction at Wellington’s zoo, living a comfortable life there until they died of old age.

Frozen remains When the US launched a strategic exploration of Antarctica in 1947, one of the strangest things they found was the preserved body of a Ross Sea Party dog, chained up outside the Cape Evans hut. It had frozen solid where it stood.