diff --git a/kernel/watchdog.c b/kernel/watchdog.c
index 8cf0678378d2..7c397907d0e9 100644
--- a/kernel/watchdog.c
+++ b/kernel/watchdog.c
@@ -376,7 +376,14 @@ static enum hrtimer_restart watchdog_timer_fn(struct hrtimer *hrtimer)
 	/* .. and repeat */
 	hrtimer_forward_now(hrtimer, ns_to_ktime(sample_period));
 
-	/* Reset the interval when touched externally by a known slow code. */
+	/*
+	 * If a virtual machine is stopped by the host it can look to
+	 * the watchdog like a soft lockup. Check to see if the host
+	 * stopped the vm before we process the timestamps.
+	 */
+	kvm_check_and_clear_guest_paused();
+
+	/* Reset the interval when touched by known problematic code. */
 	if (period_ts == SOFTLOCKUP_DELAY_REPORT) {
 		if (unlikely(__this_cpu_read(softlockup_touch_sync))) {
 			/*
@@ -387,10 +394,7 @@ static enum hrtimer_restart watchdog_timer_fn(struct hrtimer *hrtimer)
 			sched_clock_tick();
 		}
 
-		/* Clear the guest paused flag on watchdog reset */
-		kvm_check_and_clear_guest_paused();
 		update_report_ts();
-
 		return HRTIMER_RESTART;
 	}
 
@@ -402,14 +406,6 @@ static enum hrtimer_restart watchdog_timer_fn(struct hrtimer *hrtimer)
 	 */
 	duration = is_softlockup(touch_ts, period_ts);
 	if (unlikely(duration)) {
-		/*
-		 * If a virtual machine is stopped by the host it can look to
-		 * the watchdog like a soft lockup, check to see if the host
-		 * stopped the vm before we issue the warning
-		 */
-		if (kvm_check_and_clear_guest_paused())
-			return HRTIMER_RESTART;
-
 		/*
 		 * Prevent multiple soft-lockup reports if one cpu is already
 		 * engaged in dumping all cpu back traces.