diff --git a/src/buffer.rs b/src/buffer.rs
index 5db470c..79473d8 100644
--- a/src/buffer.rs
+++ b/src/buffer.rs
@@ -84,6 +84,11 @@ impl BytePacketBuffer {
 
     /// Read a qname, handling label compression (pointer jumps).
     /// Converts wire format like [3]www[6]google[3]com[0] into "www.google.com".
+    ///
+    /// Label bytes are escaped per RFC 1035 §5.1:
+    /// - literal `.` within a label → `\.`
+    /// - literal `\` → `\\`
+    /// - bytes outside `0x21..=0x7E` (excluding `.` and `\`) → `\DDD` (3-digit decimal)
     pub fn read_qname(&mut self, outstr: &mut String) -> Result<()> {
         let mut pos = self.pos();
         let mut jumped = false;
@@ -121,7 +126,13 @@ impl BytePacketBuffer {
 
                 let str_buffer = self.get_range(pos, len as usize)?;
                 for &b in str_buffer {
-                    outstr.push(b.to_ascii_lowercase() as char);
+                    let c = b.to_ascii_lowercase();
+                    match c {
+                        b'.' => outstr.push_str("\\."),
+                        b'\\' => outstr.push_str("\\\\"),
+                        0x21..=0x7E => outstr.push(c as char),
+                        _ => outstr.push_str(&format!("\\{:03}", c)),
+                    }
                 }
 
                 delim = ".";
@@ -163,23 +174,23 @@ impl BytePacketBuffer {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    /// Write a qname in wire format, parsing RFC 1035 §5.1 text escapes.
+    ///
+    /// Dots are label separators unless escaped as `\.`. `\\` yields a literal
+    /// backslash, and `\DDD` (three decimal digits) yields an arbitrary byte.
     pub fn write_qname(&mut self, qname: &str) -> Result<()> {
         if qname.is_empty() || qname == "." {
             self.write_u8(0)?;
             return Ok(());
         }
 
-        for label in qname.split('.') {
-            let len = label.len();
-            if len == 0 {
-                continue; // skip empty labels from trailing dot
-            }
-            if len > 0x3f {
+        let labels = parse_escaped_labels(qname)?;
+        for label in &labels {
+            if label.len() > 0x3f {
                 return Err("Single label exceeds 63 characters of length".into());
             }
-
-            self.write_u8(len as u8)?;
-            for b in label.as_bytes() {
+            self.write_u8(label.len() as u8)?;
+            for b in label {
                 self.write_u8(*b)?;
             }
         }
@@ -212,3 +223,180 @@ impl BytePacketBuffer {
         Ok(())
     }
 }
+
+fn parse_escaped_labels(qname: &str) -> Result<Vec<Vec<u8>>> {
+    let mut labels: Vec<Vec<u8>> = Vec::new();
+    let mut current: Vec<u8> = Vec::new();
+    let mut chars = qname.chars();
+
+    while let Some(c) = chars.next() {
+        if c == '\\' {
+            match chars.next() {
+                Some(d1) if d1.is_ascii_digit() => {
+                    let d2 = chars
+                        .next()
+                        .and_then(|c| c.to_digit(10))
+                        .ok_or("invalid \\DDD escape: expected 3 digits")?;
+                    let d3 = chars
+                        .next()
+                        .and_then(|c| c.to_digit(10))
+                        .ok_or("invalid \\DDD escape: expected 3 digits")?;
+                    let val = d1.to_digit(10).unwrap() * 100 + d2 * 10 + d3;
+                    if val > 255 {
+                        return Err(format!("\\DDD escape out of range: {}", val).into());
+                    }
+                    current.push(val as u8);
+                }
+                Some(other) => {
+                    let mut buf = [0u8; 4];
+                    current.extend_from_slice(other.encode_utf8(&mut buf).as_bytes());
+                }
+                None => return Err("trailing backslash in qname".into()),
+            }
+        } else if c == '.' {
+            if !current.is_empty() {
+                labels.push(std::mem::take(&mut current));
+            }
+        } else {
+            let mut buf = [0u8; 4];
+            current.extend_from_slice(c.encode_utf8(&mut buf).as_bytes());
+        }
+    }
+    if !current.is_empty() {
+        labels.push(current);
+    }
+    Ok(labels)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    fn roundtrip(wire: &[u8]) -> String {
+        let mut buf = BytePacketBuffer::from_bytes(wire);
+        let mut out = String::new();
+        buf.read_qname(&mut out).unwrap();
+        out
+    }
+
+    fn write_then_read(text: &str) -> String {
+        let mut buf = BytePacketBuffer::new();
+        buf.write_qname(text).unwrap();
+        let wire_end = buf.pos();
+        buf.seek(0).unwrap();
+        let mut out = String::new();
+        buf.read_qname(&mut out).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            buf.pos(),
+            wire_end,
+            "reader should consume exactly what writer wrote"
+        );
+        out
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn read_plain_domain() {
+        // [3]www[6]google[3]com[0]
+        let wire = b"\x03www\x06google\x03com\x00";
+        assert_eq!(roundtrip(wire), "www.google.com");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn read_label_with_literal_dot_is_escaped() {
+        // fanf2's example: [8]exa.mple[3]com[0] — two labels, first contains 0x2E
+        let wire = b"\x08exa.mple\x03com\x00";
+        assert_eq!(roundtrip(wire), "exa\\.mple.com");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn read_label_with_backslash_is_escaped() {
+        // [4]a\bc[3]com[0]
+        let wire = b"\x04a\\bc\x03com\x00";
+        assert_eq!(roundtrip(wire), "a\\\\bc.com");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn read_label_with_nonprintable_byte_uses_decimal_escape() {
+        // [4]\x00foo[3]com[0] — null byte at label start
+        let wire = b"\x04\x00foo\x03com\x00";
+        assert_eq!(roundtrip(wire), "\\000foo.com");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn read_label_with_space_uses_decimal_escape() {
+        // Space (0x20) is outside 0x21..=0x7E, so it must be decimal-escaped.
+        let wire = b"\x05a b c\x00";
+        assert_eq!(roundtrip(wire), "a\\032b\\032c");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn write_plain_domain() {
+        let mut buf = BytePacketBuffer::new();
+        buf.write_qname("www.google.com").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(&buf.buf[..buf.pos], b"\x03www\x06google\x03com\x00");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn write_escaped_dot_does_not_split_label() {
+        let mut buf = BytePacketBuffer::new();
+        buf.write_qname("exa\\.mple.com").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(&buf.buf[..buf.pos], b"\x08exa.mple\x03com\x00");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn write_escaped_backslash() {
+        let mut buf = BytePacketBuffer::new();
+        buf.write_qname("a\\\\bc.com").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(&buf.buf[..buf.pos], b"\x04a\\bc\x03com\x00");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn write_decimal_escape_yields_raw_byte() {
+        let mut buf = BytePacketBuffer::new();
+        buf.write_qname("\\000foo.com").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(&buf.buf[..buf.pos], b"\x04\x00foo\x03com\x00");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn write_rejects_out_of_range_decimal_escape() {
+        let mut buf = BytePacketBuffer::new();
+        assert!(buf.write_qname("\\999foo.com").is_err());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn write_rejects_trailing_backslash() {
+        let mut buf = BytePacketBuffer::new();
+        assert!(buf.write_qname("foo\\").is_err());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn write_rejects_short_decimal_escape() {
+        let mut buf = BytePacketBuffer::new();
+        assert!(buf.write_qname("\\1").is_err());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn roundtrip_preserves_dot_in_label() {
+        assert_eq!(write_then_read("exa\\.mple.com"), "exa\\.mple.com");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn roundtrip_preserves_backslash_in_label() {
+        assert_eq!(write_then_read("a\\\\b.com"), "a\\\\b.com");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn roundtrip_preserves_nonprintable_byte() {
+        assert_eq!(write_then_read("\\000foo.com"), "\\000foo.com");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn root_name_empty_and_dot_both_produce_single_zero() {
+        let mut a = BytePacketBuffer::new();
+        a.write_qname("").unwrap();
+        let mut b = BytePacketBuffer::new();
+        b.write_qname(".").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(&a.buf[..a.pos], b"\x00");
+        assert_eq!(&b.buf[..b.pos], b"\x00");
+    }
+}