Question: My daughter works for a humane society, in lieu of euthanasia, she is fostering a small puppy with scarcoptic mange. The puppy has been treated once with a paramite mixture. I have 10 dogs of my own & my concern is how long is this puppy contagious? He is isolated from the others, but I am still worried. My children wash their hands, but I still need to know. M.K., Georgetown, TX.

ANSWER:Assuming that you are absolutely SURE the mites are Sarcoptes (there are others that are not contagious)--you may have a (treatable) but difficult situation. First, Sarcoptic mites CAN be transmitted to people (you mentioned you had children in the house) so you will need to isolate the dog from the children and take any child that develops any type of skin rash to a human doctor for treatment. Second, it is possible for the mites to live in the environment (off of the dog) for several days--which means the environment needs to be treated as well as the dog. All dogs that have come into contact with the infected dog should be treated (because not all dogs will test positive for the mite but can still have them!!). Treatment usually can last up to 8-10 weeks of shampooing, dipping, cleansing the environment appropriately, etc. One dip/treatment won't cure the problem. You need to get the dog into a veterinarian for possible treatment of skin infection which is a common problem associated with mite infestation. You will need to work closely with a veterinarian to help monitor and treat (possibly ALL) of your animals until the condition is cleared.