The Dogs were stunned early but recovered in the second term to streak away to the 17.11 (113) to 14.13 (97) win, which is their 14th for the season and shelves a two-match losing streak.
The result returns the Dogs to second on the ladder after Hawthorn momentarily held the position, while the Swans remain fourth but are now level on premiership points with the fifth-placed North Melbourne.
It was the win the Bulldogs needed given their past fortnight, while the Swans entered the match undermanned with Adam Goodes, Michael O'Loughlin, Nick Malceski and Leo Barry out injured.
Mitch Hahn was terrific for the Dogs with 18 touches (12 contested), while Scott Welsh booted five goals and Lindsay Gilbee was precise with his 18 possessions.
Jarrad McVeigh was sensational for the Swans with six goals, and Ryan O'Keefe had to work hard for his 28 possessions while Jude Bolton was solid.
In the first quarter, Sydney Swans dominated and had landed four goals before the Bulldogs had entered their attacking 50.
McVeigh initially got the better of Adam Cooney and provided drive as well as goals, while the Dogs were caught on the back foot.
Sydney Swans got 24 points clear before the Dogs snared their first goal via Brad Johnson, which was followed up by a six-pointer by defender Ryan Hargrave.
Swans debutant Patrick Veszpremi had Jason Akermanis as his first opponent, with the Brownlow medallist starting in defence and initially shying away from a re-match with Jared Crouch.
Veszpremi missed his first shot at goal midway through the first, but still managed to collect 17 possessions and boot one goal for the day.
The Dogs kicked the last 1.2 of the term to enter the second 13 points down, with Daniel Cross and Daniel Giansiracusa having done plenty of the tough stuff inside.
In the second, the Dogs lifted their intensity, which was rewarded almost straight away when Welsh soccered through the opening goal.
The young Swans struggled to cope with an increase in pressure as the Dogs ran the ball end to end, making the 'visitors' pay for mistakes in their attacking half.
In the term that changed the shape of the game, umpire Mathew Nicholls was replaced by the emergency official after almost being knocked unconscious in a collision with Craig Bolton.
The Bulldogs booted eight goals to three in the term, and restricted Sydney from scoring a major until Barry Hall outmuscled Brian Lake in red time and snapped accurately from the pocket.
The difference at halftime was 28 points in favour of the Dogs, with the 'home' side making the most of the momentum shift that took place early on.
After the long break, Sydney had many opportunities but shanked four set shots – the last of which came from Luke Brennan after taking a screamer aboard Lake – with the Dogs then pinching the first goal through Josh Hill.
It was a low-scoring third quarter but the Swans stayed in touch with Hall, McVeigh and Veszpremi goaling to ensure the margin was 20 points at the last change.
However, the Dogs snuffed out any chance of a revival by kicking the first two goals of the fourth, although the Swans rallied to kick the last two and win the final quarter.
Next week, the Bulldogs take on North Melbourne at Telstra Dome on Sunday, while Sydney will host Fremantle at the SCG on Saturday night.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or the clubs.
MATCH DETAILS
Western Bulldogs 3.2 11.4 13.7 17.11 (113)
Sydney Swans 5.3 6.6 9.11 14.13 (97)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Welsh 5, Johnson 4, Hargrave, Giansiracusa, Boyd, Cooney, Harbrow, Hill, Hahn, Gilbee,
Sydney Swans: McVeigh 6, Hall 3, Brennan, Richards, Jack, Veszpremi, J. Bolton
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Hahn, Welsh, Gilbee, Boyd, Hargrave, Giansiracusa, Lake
Sydney Swans: McVeigh, O'Keefe, J. Bolton, Veszpremi, Richards, Hall
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Sydney Swans: Moore (leg) replaced in selected side by White
Reports: Nil
Umpires: McBurney, Nicholls, Chamberlain
Official crowd: 13,550 at Manuka Oval
