A fifth consecutive loss on Sunday further unravelled the Pies' bright 8-3 start to the season and put their finals chances in serious jeopardy after Buckley's team failed to stop an all-out run-and-gun assault from the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium.

While rejecting the assertion that the losing streak – the worst since late 2005 - was slowly sapping the players' confidence, Buckley conceded his team's inability to "step up to the plate" late in games, albeit against mostly good teams, has given the opposition "hope" that the Pies can be beaten.

"In any game it is a bit of an arm-wrestle. You either give the opposition hope or you take it away," Buckley said after the 18-point loss to the Dogs.

"And the best sides get the basics right and take that momentum away, or take that little bit of hope away. At the moment, I reckon sides come up against us and we keep feeding them a little bit of hope each time," he said.

"At the moment, I reckon sides come up against us and reckon they are a chance so we've got to turn that around."

The Pies - playing without key goal-kickers Travis Cloke and Jamie Elliott - trailed nearly all game but closed to within two goals midway through the last quarter before late goals to Bulldogs Mitch Wallis and Bailey Dale finally broke the stubborn resistance, 15. 14 (104) to 13.8 (86).

In assessing losses to Fremantle, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, West Coast and now the Dogs, Buckley referenced the team's execution of "the basics" – such as skill errors, defensive positioning and winning critical one-on-one contests - under pressure as a key factor.

"It's not always the last quarter, but there is no doubt that when the question is asked and the game is in the balance, we want to be a footy club that answers in the affirmative," he said.

"And at the moment, we haven't been able to do that against some pretty good sides."

Buckley acknowledged that the Pies were falling off the pace of those jostling for the top eight, having slipped back to an 8-8 record with still games against Sydney, Richmond and Geelong to come.

"We're fully aware of where we sit in the timeline of our growth," he said.

"We've taken some leaps earlier this season really quickly and when you plateau on that growth, we're all a little bit impatient aren't we? Including the coach and the players. But we are doing a lot of things right."

The Bulldogs put their fast-paced ball movement into over-drive on Sunday, playing on and running the ball with handball (173 to 123), nearly at all costs.

At times it did come at a high price in the form of several turnover goals, and Dogs coach Luke Beveridge admitted that he would have preferred his team to play with a more "balanced tempo".

However he also acknowledged that you "can't have your cake and eat it too" in relation to the high-risk, high-reward offence and said he would encourage his players to keep pushing the aggressive style even as September loomed.

At 10-6, the Dogs are closing in on a surprise finals achievement with games against Essendon, Port Adelaide (home), Melbourne, West Coast (away), North Melbourne and Brisbane (away).

"At times we didn't know another gear and sometimes it's hard to slow down when you go in with a certain intent," the coach said.

"I thought that was the best we have moved the ball all year," he continued.

"We would have liked to play at different speeds at times. But our players will learn as time goes by what the balance is.

"It can tear your hair out a little bit when the game is so tight. But I'd rather go the way we did than the other way."