How safe are dog muzzles? What is the best solution for a panicing dog?

My dog has severe panic attacks during thunder storms. We had a nice crate for her but she really hurt her teeth breaking out of it and then destroyed the wooden sliding door to the laundry room. We are not sure about drugging her and our vet is over priced. But which is better? A new crate and a muzzle for stormy nights or drugs? Us being with her sometimes helps, but this is for when we may be gone. Any thoughts?

I would not recommend Leaving a dog muzzled when you are not home.My newest dog was afraid of fireworks, which made last 4th of july a bit rough. what worked for me was to carry around his favorite treat and ever time we heard a firework go off I would give him a treat. Pretty soon he stopped cowering when he heard them and started running over to me, tail wagging, excited for his treat. I'm hoping this year that the treats will be unneeded.You could try doing something like this and see if it helps.Also remember that being fearful and scared takes a lot of energy. Whenever you know a storm is coming, exra long walks and lots of exercise before hand should help a lot. A tired pup is a calmer pup. You also might want to look into getting a thunder shirt. A lot of people swear by them for dogs with anxiety issues. http://www.gundogsupply.com/thunder-shirt-gray.html other places sell them too this was just the first link I found.Good luck!