Earnings Per Share (Schedule Of Reconciliation Of The Numerators And Denominators Used In The Computations Of Both Basic And Diluted Earnings Per Share) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012		Mar. 31, 2011
Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Net income	$ 37,883		$ 23,382
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest			1,881
Net income attributable to Dean Foods Company	$ 37,883		$ 25,263
Average common shares	184,104,804		182,817,066
Basic EPS from continuing operations attributable to Dean Foods Company	$ 0.21		$ 0.14
Stock option conversion	42,301	[1]	8,406	[1]
Stock units	800,576	[2]	467,405	[2]
Average common shares - diluted	184,947,681		183,292,877
Diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to Dean Foods Company	$ 0.20		$ 0.14
Common Stock [Member]
Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Anti-dilutive securities excluded	18,571,275		21,628,925
Stock Units [Member]
Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Anti-dilutive securities excluded	421,509		464,217

[1] Anti-dilutive common shares excluded

[2] Anti-dilutive stock units excluded