diff --git a/drivers/watchdog/watchdog_dev.c b/drivers/watchdog/watchdog_dev.c
index 977fe74e5abe..9e17d933ea94 100644
--- a/drivers/watchdog/watchdog_dev.c
+++ b/drivers/watchdog/watchdog_dev.c
@@ -237,6 +237,7 @@ static int watchdog_start(struct watchdog_device *wdd)
 	if (err == 0) {
 		set_bit(WDOG_ACTIVE, &wdd->status);
 		wd_data->last_keepalive = started_at;
+		wd_data->last_hw_keepalive = started_at;
 		watchdog_update_worker(wdd);
 	}