My lab scratches all the time.

I would like to know why my lab scratches all the time.

Please be patient. This is an international website and we are volunteers here. One of our resident experts lives in Australia and may be asleep at this time.

Indeed, It was a little before 7 when this was posted, definitely not up that early ;)

Scratching and itching can be caused by a number of things, fleas, mites and allergies are the most common.

Get a fine tooth comb and brush your dogs fur near it's tail base and down it's back legs.
Try combing the fur backwards so you flick the hair the wrong way, if you see any little black bugs then you have fleas.
There are plenty of over the counter flea products available at pet stores.
I wouldn't bother with flea collars, personally I think they are useless. I use Advantage spot on treatment on mine, it protects for 1 month.

Does your dog have any hair loss or flaky, red skin?
If so it could be mites or mange, this has the be seen to by your vet for treatment as there are several different types of mange and you cannot buy the treatment from pet stores.

Allergies are another problem, this is hard to diagnose yourself so I would recommend a vet visit.
You have to try and figure out what specifically the dog is allergic to and remove it from the environment, much easier for the vet to test than for you to take everything out of your home.

I would guess an allergy. I have a pittie with a food allergy. She can't eat anything that costs under $50.:D If you don't want to run to the vet right away, test out different foods. Try foods that are grain free and specialized formulas that are made for allergy dogs. A friend of mine has a dog that's allergic to a lot of foods. She found that Natural Balance has a lot of great allergy foods. It usually takes a month for anything to take effect. Also this could be environmental. Try and remember if anything different has changed such as different cleaning chemicals or even those glade air diffusers. A lady once told me that her dog is extremely allergic to the swiffer supplies. Also, give him a medicated bath. Earth Bath brand shampoos are kind of an all in one. It'll help with flea/mite problems if that's the problem, but will also sooth itchy skin. If he's extra flakey with dandruff, it could still be a food problem, but it could be dry skin due to the fact its winter. If you're at an absolute loss as to why your dogs so itchy, then by all means go to a vet. But be careful. A lot of vets will take allergy and itchy conditions and really take your money. If you do go the vet way, right off the bat you should ask for a skin scrapping to make sure there aren't any pests that aren't needed. If your dog has mange, you will start to see balding spots throughout the body. Its common to see mange start around the eyes first.