diff --git a/drivers/watchdog/watchdog_dev.c b/drivers/watchdog/watchdog_dev.c
index e64aa88e99da..10b2090f3e5e 100644
--- a/drivers/watchdog/watchdog_dev.c
+++ b/drivers/watchdog/watchdog_dev.c
@@ -264,6 +264,7 @@ 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);
 	}