General (Policy)	3 Months Ended
General (Policy)	Jul. 30, 2011
General
Basis Of Presentation	Basis of Presentation In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments necessary to present fairly the financial position of the Company as of July 30, 2011 and the results of operations and the cash flows for the periods ended July 30, 2011 and July 31, 2010. Such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. The results of operations for the periods ended July 30, 2011 and July 31, 2010, are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements included in the 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on June 29, 2011. The condensed consolidated financial statements of Patterson Companies, Inc. include the assets and liabilities of PDC Funding Company, LLC ("PDC Funding") and PDC Funding Company II, LLC ("PDC Funding II"), wholly owned subsidiaries and separate legal entities under Minnesota law. PDC Funding and PDC Funding II are fully consolidated special purpose entities of the Company established to sell customer installment sale contracts to outside financial institutions in the normal course of business. The assets of PDC Funding and PDC Funding II would be available first and foremost to satisfy the claims of its creditors. There are no known creditors of PDC Funding or PDC Funding II.
Fiscal Year End	Fiscal Year End The fiscal year end of the Company is the last Saturday in April. The first quarter of fiscal 2012 represents the 13 weeks ended July 30, 2011 and the first quarter of fiscal 2011 represents the 14 weeks ended July 31, 2010. Fiscal 2012 will include 52 weeks of operations, while fiscal 2011 was comprised of 53 weeks.

Disclosure of accounting policy for determining an entity's fiscal year or other fiscal period. This disclosure may include identification of the fiscal period end-date, the length of the fiscal period, any reporting period lag between the entity and its subsidiaries, or equity investees. If a reporting lag exists, the closing date of the entity having a different period end is generally noted, along with an explanation of the necessity for using different closing dates. Any intervening events that materially affect the entity's financial position or results of operations are generally also disclosed.

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