"." and "-" files Not supported by Webhost. Need work around for .htaccess files.

When FTPing the files up to my site, I started getting errors on the .htaccess files, stating the files begining with "." or a "-" are not valid files. So I renamed the file just htaccess removing the dot hoping to name them back correctly once on the site. It will not allow me to rename them as my WebHost does not allow . or - files, even though they say they support PHP and PERL.

Is there a workaround to get this working on a site that does not support "." and "-" files?

Thanks,
Moordoom