Dogs in Huts

tell them you have a serious allergy to being around dogs.... and besides they are banned from huts... one day a "harmless" dog will be allowed to sleep in a hut and bite someone anyway... I used to get that when i was a paper boy. "oh he's harmless" which is why it was trying to bite me if the owner wasnt there to it...

Must be a kiwi thing. In the uk dogs are alowed in pubs, cafes, everywhere. What's your objection to dogs in huts? Or is it simply a desire to see people follow the rules? From a conservation viewpoint I much prefer to see dogs in huts that roaming outside. The conversation then becomes about what for me is the real issue; keeping dogs under control.

I prefer not to use huts. Given they really don't have any kind of cleaning service. Frankly i don't think it matters much if dogs are in huts. Their manners and personal hygeine are probably no worse than many of the people using the huts. I'm generally careful of what i touch and subsequently touch of myself (face etc) when ever i happen to use a hut. I do my best not to leave any trace of my own use. (including hut books). I don't always succeed. I spent a night in the old Brewster bivvy some years back. I had rubbed my eyes and they puffed up so much i couldn't see. This will sometimes happen after i've touched a surface which an animal may have scratched up against. Cats and some dogs often produce the same result after i pat them and forget to wash my hands. I touch my eyes, they just get itchy and it's almost impossible to prevent scratching them. I've never had any concern about dogs not being kept under control. Myself or other people perhaps.

Hi Y'all I'm in the dog lovers camp. I always insist that other people's muttleys get to sleep inside. The last dog that stayed overnight in a hut eventually ended up on my bag (Hungarian vizla) snuggled into me and she kept me warm too as she didn't have a lot of fur. Some dogs can get a bit restless and whiny in huts but then so can another small mammal that is actually allowed inside and these ones talk too! Frank and I walked out into a storm one June heading up the Freshwater Swamp and figured we were in a better place than the hut. I guess being allergic to animals makes you good at handwashing, not touching your face etc. which is a real asset in these times.

It’s one of those polarising subjects. Being a dog owner I can’t say I mind dogs in huts, but the few I’ve encountered seemed to observe proper hut etiquette, which is usually a reflection of their owners. We did meet a couple with a Jack Russell at Huxley forks once. Very well behaved except when the rodents inside the walls started night manoeuvres. Took a while for the husband to turn off the poor wee blokes kill mode setting by installing said dog inside his sleeping bag. Dogs are less of a health hazard than snorers😆

I think its about everyone following the same set of rules and not, "I don't think the rules should apply to me" its not about being anti dogs. DOC call the shots.... theres enough problems with issues like people not paying hut fees despite the rules saying they have to... take it up with DOC if you think dogs should be let into huts... I like well behaved dogs. i'm not anti dogs.

A while ago I was at Waitawaiwai and another tramper had a dog and pleaded with us to let the dog in. His argument was the dog wasnt used to being outside and would bark all night. We did relent and the dog was quiet all night except that about 4 or 5 times it got up for a wander around the hut. Dog claws on wood tap tap tap tat tap. Never again

I must be tramping in the wrong places (or maybe just not going out enough!) but I have never once encountered a dog in a hut in 30+ years. I have ran in to hunters with them at huts but can never recall actually staying at a hut with one, or if I did it was tucked away outside. I would not say I am anti-dog — I just view them more as a tool than a pet. So, while I would never have a dog in my house I would not have a problem with once in a hut if it kept out of the way and was not a wet, stinking mess. (Kind of the same with people!). So, I agree with @madpom that it is more an issue of control of the animal than outright exclusion — though completely understand why the rule is exclusion. Much easier to enforce and manage that way.

I've met some great people at huts...and I've met some real pricks. But, I've never met a bad dog.