Advice needed

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Myself and my bf have a Kerry Blue terrier, the dog's name is Toby. The issue I need some help with is that he seems to think everything that I hold in my hands is some yummy food for him (this includes items of clothing and when I simply have my hands relaxed at my side).

Can anyone explain why he's acting this way and how to explain to Toby that items in my hands are usually not his on any level?

Thank you in advance to anyone who gives insight to this matter (or responds).

I don't think any amount of "explaining" is going to work, really.

You need to establish your position as leader, and a rattle bottle works very well for this sort of thing.
Put a handful of small pebbles into a plastic bottle and every time Toby makes a move towards something you're holding that he shouldn't make a move towards, shake the bottle at him once and clearly, in a raised voice, say "NO!" to him.
This absolutely must be done without delay, and every time. Do not keep rattling the bottle like it's some sort of weapon.
Do not get into "please", or "oh, don't do that"; there should be no discussion at all: he's a dog and he won't have a clue what you mean.
But, dogs are clever and he will learn very quickly that he is not to just assume everything you hold is his by right, and that the word "no" means "stop what you're doing right now".

You can use a similar reinforcement technique for those times where you do have something for him, but it must still be on your terms.
Call him to you and have him sit, immediately praise the 'sit', and immediately give him a treat (nibbles, toy; whatever) but he must sit first. If he doesn't sit, don't force him to sit (beyond a gentle 'hint' of pressing down his rear end) or discuss it - just turn your back and move away and after a while, try again.
He will learn that being called and behaving is good fun!

Used these regularly on two very boisterous boxer puppies and now they've grown up, I've rarely seen such playful, well-behaved and happy dogs.
They know exactly what to do and they do it because they want to do it.

Just on going by breed alone, Kerry Blue's were breed as working dogs for herding, guarding & vermin control. They have high spirits might it changeling with obedience training.

Cornflake given good advice, my grandfather when he was alive was a guard dog trainer.
My granddad once told me that if turn you back to a dog & fold your arms, your telling a dog you lack interest & what to be left alone.

I tried that with my Border Collie/Sheepdog cross when she was alive (she passed away this year due to Osteochondritis) when she would jump at my crotch, she got the message fast tho then again Collie's are very smart & quick learners.

Heh. I did exactly the same thing with those boxers: I just folded my arms and looked away whenever they started getting a bit too jumpy.
No words were required; dogs can see when they're being ignored.
It took less than a day for them to realise they were getting nowhere and with no further prompting, they learned by themselves to just sit and look appealingly at me instead, with the occasional gentle paw touch on my leg.
Then I'd play with them.

Thanks very much, this is really helpful advice and I'll try it immediately. I'll give an update on our progress tomorrow.

How old is your dog? My dog was a lot like that when he was a puppy.

He's about ten months. He's mostly well behaved and loves the cat (Al the cat loves him too), he has issues with food and listening when he meets new people though, he's really sensitive to peoples moods (he sticks like glue when someone is sad).

Since I asked you guys for help he seems to be ignoring non-food items that I have in my hands, the ignoring him seems to work really well so far regarding food that's not for him. Toby just makes his disgruntled noise and goes looking for someone else or brings a toy (we think it may be to try distract/bribe us).

Smart dog!
He wants to play but he's learning that it's not always going to be on his terms, and his bringing a toy instead is a real compliment - sounds to me like he's asking you to play with him instead of assuming you do and just going for it.

That's the magic of communicating in Dog, as my suggestion is what other dogs do when they what to be ignored

Cornflake, he can be quite smart at times. Sometimes he's given us shin bruises from hitting us with his rope toy though because he shakes it when he wants to play tug-of-war, he doesn't always know his own strenght.

cdfox7, I'm glad it works so well. I'm sorry for your loss and sorry for not saying so earlier. Four legged creatures can give so much kindness.

I have so much to learn about dogs, I don't feel I know near enough about them sometimes, I was raised in a mostly cat household. Toby is really cute and he tries to mimic other members of the house (my annoyed grunt and Al's way of using his paws* for example). I don't know how to put up a picture of him though.

*in play and opening doors

Yep, they'll do that!
Those boxers are all grown up now and they are strong. We sometimes have wrestling and stick-pulling matches (I like to really play with them sometimes; they love it too) and despite my leaning back and really pulling on a stick, either one can have me off my feet just by pulling back using their neck muscles alone.
(mind you, they then drop the stick immediately and come scurrying over to check I'm Ok.)

Set up an account (free or pay, your choice) at: http://photobucket.com/
You then upload pictures to your account and link to them here in posts, using the [img]...[/img] tags.

Here's a pic of the boxers as puppies (Sophie on the left, Bella on the right).
To see what I've done, click on the "quote" button of this post as if you were going to reply - you'll see those "img" tags surrounding a link to my Photobucket account folder.
Photobucket actually provides what you'd need to paste into a message here for each picture you have with them, so it's even easier to do.

LostAlien thank you, yes its very true pets become apart of the family. My Saddie gone to a better place now free from pain & plus always with me

What was a bit weird was getting a sympathy card from my vet, it was the first time I every got one of thoses before for a pet

Cornflake, your dogs are really adorable. They look like hugs in fur. Are they big? As I said, I really don't know much about dogs. I'll try that site and see if I can get up a picture of Toby and Al.

cdfox7, probably seemed a bit weird getting a sympathy card from the vet, although the grief over an animals death can be the same or worse than when a human dies so I can see why one was sent out to you.

Aren't they?
To be strict, they're actually my sister's dogs but I'm round her place often so they treat me as part of the pack.
I'd guess they (now) stand about 24" from ground to back level so they're quite big enough, but they're chunky and very solid.
The great thing with boxers is the range of facial expressions they have and I find them, and dogs generally, much easier to read than people. I know exactly what's going on with them and the best thing is it's two-way - they can read me too.

I look forward to that!
It's actually much easier than it looks when written down, but if you get stuck feel free to PM me.

Cornflake your dogs are lovely. They look all flollopy and squishable.

I'm thinking about getting a dog, just worried about how my other animals will cope.

They were, in that picture - but they're a bit too chunky now to get away with that one. But despite being sisters, they're very different in build and personality. Sophie is more independent (and she is very beefy) and Bella is the dippy one with the 'lose coat' - it's much softer than Sophie's.
She's also the one with more than a hint of cat - her usual greeting is to try and wrap herself around my legs, just like a cat does.
Cute thing is that they both nod greetings at me - they'll look at me, break out in a smile, and flick their heads back a little. This usually happens when they're busy with something and although they can't come over right now to say hello, they still let me know they're pleased to see me.
Ahh, love dogs...