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Label Element Value
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Fund Summary
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The fund seeks to maximize total return, consisting of capital appreciation and current income.

Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.

Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination 2014-04-01
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 167.77% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 167.77%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

The Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. The one-year example and the first year of the three-, five- and ten-years examples are based on net operating expenses, which reflect the expense waiver/reimbursement by The Dreyfus Corporation. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal Investment Strategy
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, and in repurchase agreements collateralized by such securities. The fund may invest up to 35% of its assets in mortgage-related securities issued by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities. These instruments include those backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and those that are neither insured nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.


Typically, in choosing securities, the portfolio managers first examine U.S. and global economic conditions and other market factors in order to estimate long- and short-term interest rates. Using a research-driven investment process, generally, the portfolio managers then seek to identify potentially profitable issues before they are widely perceived by the market, and seek underpriced or mispriced securities that appear likely to perform well over time.


The fund generally maintains an effective duration of approximately three years or less. The fund may invest in individual bonds of any duration. Duration is an indication of an investment's "interest rate risk," or how sensitive a bond or the fund's portfolio may be to changes in interest rates. There are no restrictions on the dollar-weighted average maturity of the fund's portfolio or on the maturities of the individual bonds the funds may purchase.

Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency. It is not a complete investment program. The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.


· Government securities risk. Not all obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Some obligations are backed only by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality, and in some cases there may be some risk of default by the issuer. Any guarantee by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities of a security held by the fund does not apply to the market value of such security or to shares of the fund itself. A security backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the United States is guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. In addition, because many types of U.S. government securities trade actively outside the United States, their prices may rise and fall as changes in global economic conditions affect the demand for these securities.


· Interest rate risk. Prices of bonds tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in rates will adversely affect bond prices and, accordingly, the fund's share price. The longer the effective maturity and duration of the fund's fixed-income portfolio, the more the fund's share price is likely to react to interest rates.


· Mortgage-related securities risk. Mortgage-related securities are complex derivative instruments, subject to credit, prepayment and extension risk, and may be more volatile and less liquid, and more difficult to price accurately, than more traditional debt securities. The fund is subject to the credit risk associated with these securities, including the market's perception of the creditworthiness of the issuing federal agency, as well as the credit quality of the underlying assets. Although certain mortgage-related securities are guaranteed as to the timely payment of interest and principal by a third party (such as a U.S. government agency or instrumentality with respect to government-related mortgage-backed securities) the market prices for such securities are not guaranteed and will fluctuate. Declining interest rates may result in the prepayment of higher yielding underlying mortgages and the reinvestment of proceeds at lower interest rates can reduce the fund's potential price gain in response to falling interest rates, reduce the fund's yield or cause the fund's share price to fall (prepayment risk). Rising interest rates may result in a drop in prepayments of the underlying mortgages, which would increase the fund's sensitivity to rising interest rates and its potential for price declines (extension risk).


· Liquidity risk. When there is little or no active trading market for a security, the fund may not be able to sell the security in a timely manner at its perceived value, which could cause the fund's share price to fall.

Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text] rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's shares from year to year. The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's shares to those of a broad measure of market performance. The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. Sales charges, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.dreyfus.com
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%)
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text] rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads Sales charges, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Best Quarter
Q4, 2008: 3.09%


Worst Quarter
Q2, 2004: -1.18%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2008
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 3.09%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2004
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (1.18%)
Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes [Text] rr_IndexNoDeductionForFeesExpensesTaxes reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Performance Table Narrative rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

Caption rr_AverageAnnualReturnCaption Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/12)
BofA/Merrill Lynch Governments, U.S. Treasury, Short-Term (1-3 Years) Index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 0.43%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.32%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 2.72%
DREYFUS SHORT INTERMEDIATE GOVERNMENT FUND
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.50%
Other expenses (including shareholder services fees) rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.33%
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.83%
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.18%) [1]
Total annual fund operating expenses (less fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement) rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.65%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 66
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 247
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 443
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,009
Annual Return 2003 rr_AnnualReturn2003 2.26%
Annual Return 2004 rr_AnnualReturn2004 0.38%
Annual Return 2005 rr_AnnualReturn2005 1.60%
Annual Return 2006 rr_AnnualReturn2006 3.56%
Annual Return 2007 rr_AnnualReturn2007 5.63%
Annual Return 2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 6.57%
Annual Return 2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 1.81%
Annual Return 2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 1.55%
Annual Return 2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 0.88%
Annual Return 2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 (0.10%)
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (0.10%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.12%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 2.39%
DREYFUS SHORT INTERMEDIATE GOVERNMENT FUND | After Taxes on Distributions
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (0.49%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 1.43%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 1.42%
DREYFUS SHORT INTERMEDIATE GOVERNMENT FUND | After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (0.07%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 1.41%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 1.47%
[1] The Dreyfus Corporation has contractually agreed, until April 1, 2014, to waive receipt of its fees and/or assume the direct expenses of the fund so that the expenses do not exceed 0.65%. On or after April 1, 2014, The Dreyfus Corporation may terminate this expense waiver at any time.