They are a separate breed. Their coat is curlier and denser than a lab, and they are differently colored than a Lab. They are both retrievers, the Chessie, pretty red curly and oily coat sheds water differently than the Lab's sleek one. The Lab was originally bred in Newfoundland, to help haul fishermen's nets in. The Chessie was riginally bred much further south, in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay, to retreive ducks.