Cutting into the quick once is usually enough for a dog to remember it, and after that every nail trim becomes a negotiation. The sliding safety guard on these clippers exists to stop that happening. Set it to limit how much nail passes the blade and you can take a little off at a time, without the guesswork that leads to a bleeding nail and a pet who hides when the clippers come out.

They are scissor-style rather than guillotine, which gives you a clear view of the nail as the blades close and suits the thinner nails of cats and small dogs. The blade is stainless steel, the spring-loaded handles reopen between cuts so you are not fighting the tool as well as the animal, and the whole thing is small enough to live in a drawer rather than be dug out of a cupboard when it is needed.

• Scissor-style clippers with a stainless steel blade
• Sliding safety lock guards against over-trimming
• Spring-loaded handles reopen between cuts
• Compact size suited to cats and small dogs
• Available in green, yellow or purple

Worth being straight about this. These are manual clippers, not an electric grinder. Some listings for this item describe a rechargeable grinding tool with a low-noise motor, and that is not what you are buying. Small, frequent trims beat one long session, and on a dog with dark nails take slivers rather than a single cut, stopping as soon as a pale circle appears in the cut face.

Who it's for: Owners of cats and small dogs handling nail care at home, particularly anyone nervous about cutting too far.