how do the choices of the man in the story influence his fate?

I think the theme of this story largely has to do with the man's choices. The man fails to heed the warnings that nature gives him. He carries on despite the cold and even his dog. The dog lagged behind but the man kept forging on. Before he froze to death the man tried to turn his dog into a sleeping bag but fortunately the dog knew this guy was kind of a "duffus". The man's choices become increasingly stupid as he tries to beat nature, as if survival were a game that he could win.