The Dockers booted the first three goals of the game and were always able to keep the disappointing Bulldogs at bay to prevail 18.9 (117) to 10.16 (76).
While Fremantle coach Chris Connolly is entitled to be delighted with his team's third win from four matches in Melbourne this season, Bulldog counterpart Peter Rohde was again left wondering about the direction in which his side is heading, giving their long-suffering supporters few positives to take away from the game.
Without the efforts of veteran midfielder Scott West, who was a clear best-on-ground with 33 possessions and three goals, the Bulldogs' defeat would have been far greater.
They simply lacked enough players capable of stamping their authority on the contest.
The Dockers, by comparison, played well in bursts and did enough to record a comfortable victory, with the final margin a true reflection of the difference between the two sides.
Early on, it looked like being a disastrous afternoon for the Dogs, when the Dockers silenced the small crowd with their strong opening.
But with West setting the Bulldogs on their way on the scoreboard and Ben Harrison coming off the bench to have an impact up forward, the contest was alive by the first change, the Dockers leading by just three points.
And with West and Daniel Giansiracusa prominent, the Bulldogs controlled the run of play for much of the second quarter, but they struggled to make a significant impact on the scoreboard.
Both teams scored only one goal each in the first 18 minutes of the term before some questionable decision-making turned the battle in the Dockers' favour.
Freo captain Peter Bell kicked truly after he successfully staged for a free for minimal high contact against Peter Street before Byron Schammer captalised on a poor Giansiracusa kick across goal.
Jeff Farmer swooped on the kick and an errant Nathan Eagleton handball gifted Schammer the easiest of goals.
Farmer was involved in two goals in a minute, when Andrew Browne found him loose inside Fremantle's 50 with a clever kick around the corner.
Trailing by 19 points, the Bulldogs looked in trouble, but were right back in the contest at half-time, thanks to two fortunate free kicks in front of goal during time-on, with Patrick Bowden and Adam Morgan the lucky recipients.
But despite Fremantle only holding a seven-point advantage at the extended break, the Bulldogs provided minimal resistance when play resumed, only managing three behinds to the Dockers' six-goals-two in the third term.
Fremantle's midfield runners simply did as they pleased, with Matthew Carr, Paul Hasleby, Des Headland and Bell all pumping the ball forward on numerous occasions and Paul Medhurst and Troy Simmonds pounced.
Medhurst had too much class for former teammate Steven Koops, booting four goals from the forward pocket (all at the Lockett end of the ground), while Simmonds was a strong focal point at full-forward, also finishing with four.
At the other end of the ground, key defender Luke McPharlin continued his fine season with another impressive display and he even drifted forward late in the game to kick a lovely goal on the run.
Staring at a 42-point deficit at three-quarter time, the Bulldogs gave their fans a small glimmer of hope, when they booted four of the first five goals of the last term, through Luke Darcy (three) and West.
But with the margin cut back to 23 points, the Dockers lifted again, kicking the last three goals of the match to put the game beyond doubt.
Connolly believes his team is no longer daunted when having to play on the road.
"If you reflect on the last two years, I think we have won three out of four at the MCG (it's actually three out of five) and three out of five here (at Telstra Dome)," he said.
"We are starting to sort it out and we are starting to get good results (away from home) and it's only some good teams that have beat us over here like Collingwood last year and Essendon a couple of times."
Rohde was extremely disappointed with the Bulldogs' lack of resistance in the third quarter.
"Once again we come away from a game saying that in three of the four quarters we played a reasonably decent style. (But) we certainly didn't convert the opportunities we generated.
"In three of the four quarters, you'd say that we were on the right track and one of the quarters you would say it was a bad as we'd produced at any time in the last couple of years."
Western Bulldogs: 3.4, 6.9, 6.12, 10.16 (76)
Fremantle: 4.1, 8.4, 14.6, 18.9 (117)
GOALS: Western Bulldogs: West, Darcy 3, Harrison 2, Bowden, Morgan 1
Fremantle: Simmonds, Medhurst 4, Bell 3, Schammer 2, McManus, Headland, McPharlin, J.Longmuir, Farmer 1.
BEST: Western Bulldogs: West, Giansiracusa, Grant, Harrison, Darcy, Eagleton
Fremantle: Bell, Carr, Pavlich, Medhurst, Headland, McPharlin, Schammer, Simmonds
INJURIES: Western Bulldogs: Giansiracusa (shoulder)
CHANGES: None
REPORTS: J.Longmuir (Fremantle) for striking Smith (Bulldogs) in the third quarter
UMPIRES: James, Grun, Wenn (replaced Ellis)
CROWD: 18,734 at Telstra Dome
