Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2017	Feb. 01, 2018
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 30, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	CENT
Entity Registrant Name	CENTRAL GARDEN & PET CO
Entity Central Index Key	0000887733
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--09-29
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Common Stock
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		12,160,023
Class A Common Stock
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		38,070,180
Class B Common Stock
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		1,652,262