diff --git a/python/sglang/srt/managers/scheduler.py b/python/sglang/srt/managers/scheduler.py
index 078240792..43290075a 100644
--- a/python/sglang/srt/managers/scheduler.py
+++ b/python/sglang/srt/managers/scheduler.py
@@ -349,6 +349,9 @@ class Scheduler(
         dp_rank: Optional[int],
     ):
         self.is_initializing = True
+        # init_soft_watchdog starts a daemon thread that reads these on its first tick.
+        self.forward_ct: int = 0
+        self.cur_batch: Optional[ScheduleBatch] = None
         self.init_soft_watchdog(server_args)
 
         # Parse args
diff --git a/python/sglang/srt/managers/scheduler_runtime_checker_mixin.py b/python/sglang/srt/managers/scheduler_runtime_checker_mixin.py
index ebf929f71..9b5f7709c 100644
--- a/python/sglang/srt/managers/scheduler_runtime_checker_mixin.py
+++ b/python/sglang/srt/managers/scheduler_runtime_checker_mixin.py
@@ -594,9 +594,8 @@ def create_scheduler_watchdog(
 
     return WatchdogRaw(
         debug_name="Scheduler",
-        get_counter=lambda: getattr(scheduler, "forward_ct", 0),
-        is_active=lambda: scheduler.is_initializing
-        or getattr(scheduler, "cur_batch", None) is not None,
+        get_counter=lambda: scheduler.forward_ct,
+        is_active=lambda: scheduler.is_initializing or scheduler.cur_batch is not None,
         watchdog_timeout=watchdog_timeout,
         soft=soft,
         dump_info=dump_info,