diff --git a/patroni/config.py b/patroni/config.py
index 1e98a7c7..44737772 100644
--- a/patroni/config.py
+++ b/patroni/config.py
@@ -196,9 +196,6 @@ class Config(object):
             'use_slots': True,
             'parameters': CaseInsensitiveDict({p: v[0] for p, v in ConfigHandler.CMDLINE_OPTIONS.items()
                                                if p not in ('wal_keep_segments', 'wal_keep_size')})
-        },
-        'watchdog': {
-            'mode': 'automatic',
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/patroni/watchdog/base.py b/patroni/watchdog/base.py
index 6ca57fc3..4f771a56 100644
--- a/patroni/watchdog/base.py
+++ b/patroni/watchdog/base.py
@@ -39,12 +39,14 @@ def synchronized(func):
 class WatchdogConfig(object):
     """Helper to contain a snapshot of configuration"""
     def __init__(self, config):
-        self.mode = parse_mode(config['watchdog'].get('mode', 'automatic'))
+        watchdog_config = config.get("watchdog") or {'mode': 'automatic'}
+
+        self.mode = parse_mode(watchdog_config.get('mode', 'automatic'))
         self.ttl = config['ttl']
         self.loop_wait = config['loop_wait']
-        self.safety_margin = config['watchdog'].get('safety_margin', 5)
-        self.driver = config['watchdog'].get('driver', 'default')
-        self.driver_config = dict((k, v) for k, v in config['watchdog'].items()
+        self.safety_margin = watchdog_config.get('safety_margin', 5)
+        self.driver = watchdog_config.get('driver', 'default')
+        self.driver_config = dict((k, v) for k, v in watchdog_config.items()
                                   if k not in ['mode', 'safety_margin', 'driver'])
 
     def __eq__(self, other):