I've dealt w/ allergies in 2 of mine. They're awful. When it starts to affect their quality of life like it is w/ your kiddo, you really do need to medicate...despite what the vet wants to do...the vet isn't the one living w/ feeling miserable w/ allergies, the doggie is.
If these are year round allergies, then you may want to try Atopica - which can be a miracle for many dogs. It takes about 6 weeks to fully ramp-up the med, then you cut back on the med a bit. Marcel takes his Atopica 2x a week now and that seems to be okay. We can't get Apoquel here right now. As you're ramping up on Atopica, I'd also be giving her some IMMEDIATE relief using either Temaril-P (an anti-histamine + a little steroid) or pure steroids.
For more on allergies, read here:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/die...tart-here.html