One of the most important of our preparations was to find good dogs.  As I have said, I had to act with decision and promptitude if I was to succeed in getting everything in order.  The day after my decision was made, therefore, I was on my way to Copenhagen, where the Inspectors for Greenland, Messrs. Daugaard-Jensen and Bentzen, were to be found at that moment.  The director of the Royal Greenland Trading Company, Mr. Rydberg, showed, as before, the most friendly interest in my undertaking, and gave the inspectors a free hand.  I then negotiated with these gentlemen, and they undertook to provide 100 of the finest Greenland dogs and to deliver them in Norway in July, 1910.  The dog question was thus as good as solved, since the choice was placed in the most expert hands.  I was personally acquainted with Inspector Daugaard-Jensen from former dealings with him, and knew that whatever he undertook would be performed with the greatest conscientiousness.  The administration of the Royal Greenland Trading Company gave permission for the dogs to be conveyed free of charge on board the Hans Egede and delivered at Christiansand.

Before I proceed to our further equipment, I must say a few more words about the dogs.  The greatest difference between Scott’s and my equipment lay undoubtedly in our choice of draught animals.  We had heard that Scott, relying on his own experience, and that of Shackleton, had come to the conclusion that Manchurian ponies were superior to dogs on the Barrier.  Among those who were acquainted with the Eskimo dog, I do not suppose I was the only one who was startled on first hearing this.  Afterwards, as I read the different narratives and was able to form an accurate opinion of the conditions of surface and going, my astonishment became even greater.  Although I had never seen this part of the Antarctic regions, I was not long in forming an opinion diametrically opposed to that of Shackleton and Scott, for the conditions both of going and surface were precisely what one would desire for sledging with Eskimo dogs, to judge from the descriptions of these explorers.  If Peary could make a record trip on the Arctic ice with dogs, one ought, surely, with equally good tackle, to be able to beat Peary’s record on the splendidly even surface of the Barrier.  There must be some misunderstanding or other at the bottom of the Englishmen’s estimate of the Eskimo dog’s utility in the Polar regions.  Can it be that the dog has not understood his master?  Or is it the master who has not understood his dog?  The right footing must be established from the outset; the dog must understand that he has to obey in everything, and the master must know how to make himself respected.  If obedience is once established, I am convinced that the dog will be superior to all other draught animals over these long distances.