Best collar for dogs after surgery: not plastic cones!

Beat up plastic cone

After surgery, your vet will usually give you (or sell you) a large plastic cone to put around your dog's neck. This is to keep them from chewing on their stitches or scratching them in the case of head injuries. Our dogs never quite seem to get used to them. One of them tries to go through the doggie door with it on, the other actually moves furniture around with the cone! He walks by the table, the table leg catches on the plastic cone, and he just keeps going! Next thing you know the table is being pushed across the floor. (One time he actually jumped the fence and when running down the street ... with a plastic cone on his head and 30+ staples in his stomach!) Two potential solutions come to mind.

1. You can trim the cone. For most dogs, the cone doesn't actually need to go much beyond your dog's nose. This works really well for head injuries where you are just trying to keep the dog from scratching their ear, nose or face. Just take the scissors and trim around.
2. Get a soft collar before your dog comes home. Not only are these soft and more flexible but they have the added benefit of being washable and more durable. (We never get more than one use out of the plastic cones from the vet.)

Any other solutions you know of?