Chows first showed up when Smithy invaded; if these mechanical creatures are part of the Smithy Gang, they are probably very low ranking. They are not too dangerous to experienced adventurers, but they usually appear in packs with other monsters.
Attack Pattern: On the map, Chows wander pretty slowly and they are pretty easy to avoid. There's one place early on where a bunch will ambush you when you land in a hole they're living in. It should be easy to fight one and sneak around the others.
In battle, Chows are quick to attack, but not very powerful. They can mute or poison one character with the Howl and Poison attacks. Howl could be dangerous if you need magic later in the battle.
Basic Fighting Strategies: Regular attacks are best, they can be beaten with one or two timed hits. Geno Beam will defeat them right away, but it's probably a waste of FP. Don't even waste your time on other special attacks.
Advanced Strategies: Since they are easy to beat, give out Attack Ups, and have an attack that can mute one character, you should fight Chows right away to get them out of your way and take an early advantage.
Chow's regular attack consists of running up to one character, and biting them. Press A in the middle of the bite to block it.
