The Warriors started this season with high hopes of winning the title, but after suffering a walloping at the hands of Gerry McCabe's Dumbarton, Stenny manager Des McEwan must now regroup his men for a crucial series of matches.
The home side started the match with steely determination, and their ambitions were quickly rewarded in the 23rd minute thanks to a well-worked move. David McNaught, who was in inspirational form, drove to the by-line before cutting the ball back to donate to Craig Winter the easiest of chances.
Stenny tried to re-group but could not link their midfield to their attack, allowing the Sons to dominate most of the play.
It took until the 36th minute for Dumbarton to double their lead with a rasping drive that nestled in the top corner from on-loan striker Stephen Dobbie.
Stenny quickly realised that it was not supposed to be their day when Shaun Dillon's header ricocheted back off the crossbar from close range in first-half injury time.
Any hope that the visitors had of making a bring start in the second half evaporated when Stephen Dobbie popped up again just after the restart to grab his brace. The striker played a clever one-two with Chris Boyle before slotting the ball into the bottom corner with Willie McCulloch rooted to the spot.
Dumbarton soaked up the pressure as the visitors struggled to break down the home defence and managed to add number four with only five minutes on the clock.
McNaught picked up a clearance before embarking on a lung bursting run into opposition territory. The striker's effort was parried by McCulloch, but Winter was on hand to roll the ball into an empty net to complete the scoring.