Suggestions?
 

We had our 4 mo old chihuahua neutered yesterday and now he has to wear a cone for 2 weeks---it is driving him nuts. Any suggestions how we can help him acclimate to this inconvenience?

Maybe some games (not wildly energetic) will tire him out so he will sleep more. Training tricks will cause mental tiredness as well as physical tiredness. Look at www.kikopup.com for ideas for clicker training. Use chew toys like a kong filled with his meals and sealed with peanut butter so he has to work for his food -- this will be more tiring than just eating out of a food bowl -- and if you scatter small pieces of dog kibble for him to search for, this is also more interesting than just using a food bowl and while he is hunting food he won't need the cone on as he will be concentrating on something else. Lie him on your lap and do some gentle massage while he has the cone on so it is associated with a pleasant experience. Good luck!

Believe it or not, he'll eventually get used to it. A bit of advice - if you remove it (except when absolutely necessary), it'll only make it that much worse, when you put it back. If you just leave it on, he WILL get used to it and accept it.

My go to? Ask the vet what he/she suggests... But how come he has to wear a cone? I've had numerous male dogs "fixed" & none of them have ever had to wear a cone (or anything else). Just curious...

How in the world did animals survive neutering before the cone?

maybe the cone is too big for him and drives him nuts because of that. my smallest kitten was put into a cone, well it was put on her and it was a floppy one and was huge. she stepped on it!! i took it off. wrapped her tummy with an ace bandage and she was fine. her sister and later Mother too.
see if you can trim the cone down a bit. not too much. just to see if it helps.

If he's bothering the area, yes keep the cone on. he will get used to it and it is only temporary.

Two weeks seems like far longer than necessary as the stitches (if indeed there are any) come out in 10 days. Also, he will probably stop attempting to bother the area after about 4-5 days.