diff --git a/drivers/watchdog/at91sam9_wdt.c b/drivers/watchdog/at91sam9_wdt.c
index 8038b20..be37dde 100644
--- a/drivers/watchdog/at91sam9_wdt.c
+++ b/drivers/watchdog/at91sam9_wdt.c
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
 
 /* User land timeout */
 #define WDT_HEARTBEAT 15
-static int heartbeat = WDT_HEARTBEAT;
+static int heartbeat;
 module_param(heartbeat, int, 0);
 MODULE_PARM_DESC(heartbeat, "Watchdog heartbeats in seconds. "
 	"(default = " __MODULE_STRING(WDT_HEARTBEAT) ")");
@@ -176,6 +176,7 @@
 static struct watchdog_device at91_wdt_dev = {
 	.info =		&at91_wdt_info,
 	.ops =		&at91_wdt_ops,
+	.timeout =	WDT_HEARTBEAT,
 	.min_timeout =	1,
 	.max_timeout =	0xFFFF,
 };
@@ -194,8 +195,8 @@
 		return -ENOMEM;
 	}
 
-	at91_wdt_dev.timeout = heartbeat;
 	at91_wdt_dev.parent = &pdev->dev;
+	watchdog_init_timeout(&at91_wdt_dev, heartbeat, &pdev->dev);
 	watchdog_set_nowayout(&at91_wdt_dev, nowayout);
 
 	/* Set watchdog */
@@ -212,7 +213,7 @@
 	mod_timer(&at91wdt_private.timer, jiffies + WDT_TIMEOUT);
 
 	pr_info("enabled (heartbeat=%d sec, nowayout=%d)\n",
-		heartbeat, nowayout);
+		at91_wdt_dev.timeout, nowayout);
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/drivers/watchdog/orion_wdt.c b/drivers/watchdog/orion_wdt.c
index 87ed2b9..da57798 100644
--- a/drivers/watchdog/orion_wdt.c
+++ b/drivers/watchdog/orion_wdt.c
@@ -140,6 +140,7 @@
 static struct watchdog_device orion_wdt = {
 	.info = &orion_wdt_info,
 	.ops = &orion_wdt_ops,
+	.min_timeout = 1,
 };
 
 static int orion_wdt_probe(struct platform_device *pdev)
@@ -164,12 +165,9 @@
 
 	wdt_max_duration = WDT_MAX_CYCLE_COUNT / wdt_tclk;
 
-	if ((heartbeat < 1) || (heartbeat > wdt_max_duration))
-		heartbeat = wdt_max_duration;
-
-	orion_wdt.timeout = heartbeat;
-	orion_wdt.min_timeout = 1;
+	orion_wdt.timeout = wdt_max_duration;
 	orion_wdt.max_timeout = wdt_max_duration;
+	watchdog_init_timeout(&orion_wdt, heartbeat, &pdev->dev);
 
 	watchdog_set_nowayout(&orion_wdt, nowayout);
 	ret = watchdog_register_device(&orion_wdt);
@@ -179,7 +177,7 @@
 	}
 
 	pr_info("Initial timeout %d sec%s\n",
-		heartbeat, nowayout ? ", nowayout" : "");
+		orion_wdt.timeout, nowayout ? ", nowayout" : "");
 	return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/drivers/watchdog/pnx4008_wdt.c b/drivers/watchdog/pnx4008_wdt.c
index de1f3fa..a3684a3 100644
--- a/drivers/watchdog/pnx4008_wdt.c
+++ b/drivers/watchdog/pnx4008_wdt.c
@@ -142,6 +142,7 @@
 static struct watchdog_device pnx4008_wdd = {
 	.info = &pnx4008_wdt_ident,
 	.ops = &pnx4008_wdt_ops,
+	.timeout = DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT,
 	.min_timeout = 1,
 	.max_timeout = MAX_HEARTBEAT,
 };
@@ -151,8 +152,7 @@
 	struct resource *r;
 	int ret = 0;
 
-	if (heartbeat < 1 || heartbeat > MAX_HEARTBEAT)
-		heartbeat = DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT;
+	watchdog_init_timeout(&pnx4008_wdd, heartbeat, &pdev->dev);
 
 	r = platform_get_resource(pdev, IORESOURCE_MEM, 0);
 	wdt_base = devm_ioremap_resource(&pdev->dev, r);
@@ -167,7 +167,6 @@
 	if (ret)
 		goto out;
 
-	pnx4008_wdd.timeout = heartbeat;
 	pnx4008_wdd.bootstatus = (readl(WDTIM_RES(wdt_base)) & WDOG_RESET) ?
 			WDIOF_CARDRESET : 0;
 	watchdog_set_nowayout(&pnx4008_wdd, nowayout);
@@ -181,7 +180,7 @@
 	}
 
 	dev_info(&pdev->dev, "PNX4008 Watchdog Timer: heartbeat %d sec\n",
-			heartbeat);
+		 pnx4008_wdd.timeout);
 
 	return 0;
 
diff --git a/drivers/watchdog/s3c2410_wdt.c b/drivers/watchdog/s3c2410_wdt.c
index 6419c61..c1a221c 100644
--- a/drivers/watchdog/s3c2410_wdt.c
+++ b/drivers/watchdog/s3c2410_wdt.c
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@
 #define CONFIG_S3C2410_WATCHDOG_DEFAULT_TIME	(15)
 
 static bool nowayout	= WATCHDOG_NOWAYOUT;
-static int tmr_margin	= CONFIG_S3C2410_WATCHDOG_DEFAULT_TIME;
+static int tmr_margin;
 static int tmr_atboot	= CONFIG_S3C2410_WATCHDOG_ATBOOT;
 static int soft_noboot;
 static int debug;
@@ -226,6 +226,7 @@
 static struct watchdog_device s3c2410_wdd = {
 	.info = &s3c2410_wdt_ident,
 	.ops = &s3c2410wdt_ops,
+	.timeout = CONFIG_S3C2410_WATCHDOG_DEFAULT_TIME,
 };
 
 /* interrupt handler code */
@@ -356,7 +357,8 @@
 	/* see if we can actually set the requested timer margin, and if
 	 * not, try the default value */
 
-	if (s3c2410wdt_set_heartbeat(&s3c2410_wdd, tmr_margin)) {
+	watchdog_init_timeout(&s3c2410_wdd, tmr_margin,  &pdev->dev);
+	if (s3c2410wdt_set_heartbeat(&s3c2410_wdd, s3c2410_wdd.timeout)) {
 		started = s3c2410wdt_set_heartbeat(&s3c2410_wdd,
 					CONFIG_S3C2410_WATCHDOG_DEFAULT_TIME);