The Magpies, who lost key defender Chris Tarrant before the game, and midfielder Ben Johnson to injury early on, looked set to record an easy victory when they led by 28 points mid-way through the third term.
They suffered a major scare when the Bulldogs fought back, booting five unanswered goals to draw level five minutes into in the final stanza.
But Mick Malthouse's men raced away again at the finish, Leigh Brown slotting four late majors, including a brilliant left-foot effort from just inside the boundary line, as Collingwood won 15.15 (105) to 8.9 (57).
Heath Shaw, Steele Sidebottom, Dane Swan and Andrew Krakouer were other impressive contributors for the winners.
Former Brisbane Lion Justin Sherman was best for the Bulldogs, who were goalless for more than an hour during the middle of the game.
Given star players Barry Hall, Daniel Giansiracusa, Ben Hudson, Shaun Higgins and Ryan Hargrave were unavailable due to injury, the Dogs went into the game as rank underdogs.
But they surprised the Magpies by kicking three unanswered goals in the first 12 minutes of the game.
While they didn't score again during the opening quarter, Rodney Eade's men were still 10 points up at the opening change.
A spray from Mick Malthouse then stung Collingwood into action. The Magpies held the Bulldogs scoreless in the second term, while booting 3.7 themselves.
Steele Sidebottom's left-foot snap from deep in the right pocket was the highlight of a scrappy period of play.
Thanks to the Bulldogs' brave comeback, the Robert Rose Cup remained in the balance until half-way through the final term.
But a late Brown-inspired avalanche ensured the Magpies made it six wins from six starts.
Collingwood 1.2 4.9 7.12 15.15 (105)
Western Bulldogs 3.0 3.0 7.4 8.9 (57)
GOALS
Collingwood: Brown 4, Sidebottom 3, Krakouer 2, Blair, Dawes, Cloke, Ball, Dick, Didak,
Western Bulldogs: Sherman 3, Cooney, Grant, Jones, Gilbee, Picken
BEST
Collingwood: L. Brown, Shaw, Sidebottom, Swan, Krakouer, Reid, Wellingham.
Western Bulldogs: Sherman, Murphy, Boyd, Markovic, Cross, Minson
INJURIES
Collingwood: Chris Tarrant (general soreness) replaced in selected side by Simon Buckley, Ben Johnson (leg)
Western Bulldogs: None
SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: Ben Johnson (leg) replaced by Simon Buckley in the first quarter
Western Bulldogs: Jordan Roughead replaced by Brodie Moles in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Vozzo, Ryan, Armstrong
Official crowd: 53,776 at MCG
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL
