Central Garden & Pet Company Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Acquisitions and Investments in Joint Ventures - Additional Information (Detail)

Acquisitions and Investments in Joint Ventures - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Thousands								3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 28, 2017 USD ($)	Oct. 24, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 21, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 01, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2014 USD ($) JointVenture	Sep. 24, 2016 USD ($) JointVenture	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) JointVenture	Sep. 24, 2016 USD ($) JointVenture	Sep. 26, 2015 USD ($)	Jun. 24, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 27, 2014 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Investments in business									$ 12,495	$ 0	$ 0
Excess of purchase price included in goodwill								$ 231,385	$ 256,275	$ 231,385	$ 209,089		$ 208,233
Number of joint ventures \| JointVenture								2	2	2
Mature, seasonal business
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Percent interest in ventures									45.00%
Start-up company
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Percent interest in ventures									30.00%
Purishield LLC and Ceregenin LLC
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Investment in joint ventures							$ 16,000
Percentage of equity interest in joint venture							50.00%
Number of joint ventures \| JointVenture							2
K&H Manufacturing
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cost of acquisition	$ 48,000
Purchase price in excess of fair value												$ 41,800
Segrest Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price in excess of fair value									$ 44,400
Cost of acquisition		$ 60,000	$ 56,743
Contingent consideration		$ 6,000	2,700
Other intangible assets			27,650
Goodwill			25,890
Cash paid, net of cash acquired			54,043
Excess of purchase price included in intangible assets			27,650
Excess of purchase price included in goodwill			$ 25,890
Hydro Organics Wholesale Inc
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price in excess of fair value					$ 10,700
Cash paid, net of cash acquired					7,800
Excess of purchase price included in intangible assets					5,200
Excess of purchase price included in goodwill								$ 5,500		$ 5,500
Hydro Organics Wholesale Inc \| Future Performance
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Contingent consideration					2,600
Contingent consideration cap					$ 1,000
DMC
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price in excess of fair value				$ 33,800
Cost of acquisition				61,000
Other intangible assets				18,700
Goodwill				15,058
Excess of purchase price included in intangible assets				18,700
Excess of purchase price included in goodwill				$ 15,058				15,100		15,100
DMC and IMS Trading Corp
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Impact of acquisitions on the Company's operating income										10,600
IMS Trading Corp
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets						$ 4,510
Goodwill						1,365
Excess of purchase price included in intangible assets						4,510
Excess of purchase price included in goodwill						1,365		1,400		1,400
Purchase of certain assets						$ 23,200
Other income (expense)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Non-cash impairment charge								$ 16,600
Other income (expense) \| Purishield LLC and Ceregenin LLC
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Non-cash impairment charge										$ 16,600