The 30-year-old veteran of 191 senior games played just five matches last season as the Dogs battled through a disappointing 2011.
Hargrave joins fellow key backline partner Brian Lake as well as midfield sensation Adam Cooney in approaching full fitness late into the Bulldogs' summer training regime.
Dogs skipper Matthew Boyd declared the reliable Hargrave is having a dominant pre-season.
Boyd says Hargrave is well on track for the Doggies’ opener against West Coast at Etihad Stadium.
“His pre-season has been really good,” Boyd told Radio Sports National on Wednesday.
“Obviously he had a pretty interrupted year, last year and couldn’t quite get his injuries right.
“So he’s had a far more significant pre-season than he did last year.
“We missed ‘Shaggy’ quite a lot last year.
“He provides great run and he can shut down an opponent, he’s very smart and he’s a leader down in the backline.
“So he’s a vital player for us and he’s looking like he’ll be right to go in Round 1, I think.”
Boyd, who became captain of the Bulldogs before the start of the 2011 campaign, said star teammate and Brownlow medallist Cooney was also on track for a good year.
Cooney managed just 13 games for the Dogs in 2011 as he battled a debilitating and persistent knee injury.
Boyd said although he was sceptical about Cooney playing in the pre-season NAB Cup tournament, the Bulldogs are expecting a big season from the star midfielder.
“Look, I’m not sure about the NAB Cup scenario, obviously we’d love to get him out and playing footy before the season starts,” Boyd said.
“But his progress has been really good and he’s on track with where his program says he should be, so that’s a real positive for us.
“He’s been out on the track more and more regularly in the past couple of weeks, which is a great sign for us.
“Whenever he’s out on the track, his class shows through and he looks like he hasn’t missed much footy.
“He’s a terrific player and we’re hoping to get him to play quite a big chunk of the season for us, so fingers crossed that’s the case.”
Boyd said the Bulldogs had been working on improving their contested football skills over the pre-season under new coach Brendan McCartney.
McCartney was appointed as Dogs coach in September last year, after the club sacked Rodney Eade.
Boyd declared there wouldn’t be many major changes made to the Bulldogs’ game plan under McCartney - just a few minor tweaks.
“We’ve done a lot of good things, at this footy club, for a number of years now - you don’t play three prelims in a row without having some things right,” Boyd said.
“So there’s going to be certain changes, certain tweaks to the game plan, but I think as a whole we’ll maintain some of those things that we’ve done in the past and add a few little things.
“It wouldn’t say there’s going to be wholesale changes, I think there’s going to be some shift, but it won’t be unrecognisable.”