diff --git a/command/agent/check.go b/command/agent/check.go
index 67cd8504e0..45dc3bfc69 100644
--- a/command/agent/check.go
+++ b/command/agent/check.go
@@ -502,6 +502,14 @@ func (c *CheckTCP) check() {
 	c.Notify.UpdateCheck(c.CheckID, structs.HealthPassing, fmt.Sprintf("TCP connect %s: Success", c.TCP))
 }
 
+// A custom interface since go-dockerclient doesn't have one
+// We will use this interface in our test to inject a fake client
+type DockerClient interface {
+	CreateExec(docker.CreateExecOptions) (*docker.Exec, error)
+	StartExec(string, docker.StartExecOptions) error
+	InspectExec(string) (*docker.ExecInspect, error)
+}
+
 // CheckDocker is used to periodically invoke a script to
 // determine the health of an application running inside a
 // Docker Container. We assume that the script is compatible
@@ -515,8 +523,7 @@ type CheckDocker struct {
 	Interval          time.Duration
 	Logger            *log.Logger
 
-	dockerClient *docker.Client
-	exec         *docker.Exec
+	dockerClient DockerClient
 	cmd          []string
 	stop         bool
 	stopCh       chan struct{}
@@ -530,10 +537,12 @@ func (c *CheckDocker) Start() {
 	defer c.stopLock.Unlock()
 
 	//create the docker client
-	var err error
-	c.dockerClient, err = docker.NewClientFromEnv()
-	if err != nil {
-		c.Logger.Println("[DEBUG] Error creating the Docker Client : %s", err.Error())
+	if c.dockerClient == nil {
+		var err error
+		c.dockerClient, err = docker.NewClientFromEnv()
+		if err != nil {
+			c.Logger.Println("[DEBUG] Error creating the Docker Client : %s", err.Error())
+		}
 	}
 
 	//figure out the shell
diff --git a/command/agent/check_test.go b/command/agent/check_test.go
index 6b9f59df7e..312f922b62 100644
--- a/command/agent/check_test.go
+++ b/command/agent/check_test.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package agent
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
 	"net"
@@ -10,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
+	docker "github.com/fsouza/go-dockerclient"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/consul/structs"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/testutil"
 )
@@ -393,3 +395,140 @@ func TestCheckTCPPassing(t *testing.T) {
 	expectTCPStatus(t, tcpServer.Addr().String(), "passing")
 	tcpServer.Close()
 }
+
+// A fake docker client to test happy path scenario
+type fakeDockerClientWithNoErrors struct {
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithNoErrors) CreateExec(opts docker.CreateExecOptions) (*docker.Exec, error) {
+	return &docker.Exec{ID: "123"}, nil
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithNoErrors) StartExec(id string, opts docker.StartExecOptions) error {
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithNoErrors) InspectExec(id string) (*docker.ExecInspect, error) {
+	return &docker.ExecInspect{
+		ID:       "123",
+		ExitCode: 0,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// A fake docker client to test non-zero exit codes from exec invocation
+type fakeDockerClientWithExecNonZeroExitCode struct {
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithExecNonZeroExitCode) CreateExec(opts docker.CreateExecOptions) (*docker.Exec, error) {
+	return &docker.Exec{ID: "123"}, nil
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithExecNonZeroExitCode) StartExec(id string, opts docker.StartExecOptions) error {
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithExecNonZeroExitCode) InspectExec(id string) (*docker.ExecInspect, error) {
+	return &docker.ExecInspect{
+		ID:       "123",
+		ExitCode: 127,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// A fake docker client to simulate create exec failing
+type fakeDockerClientWithCreateExecFailure struct {
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithCreateExecFailure) CreateExec(opts docker.CreateExecOptions) (*docker.Exec, error) {
+	return nil, errors.New("Exec Creation Failed")
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithCreateExecFailure) StartExec(id string, opts docker.StartExecOptions) error {
+	return errors.New("Exec doesn't exist")
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithCreateExecFailure) InspectExec(id string) (*docker.ExecInspect, error) {
+	return nil, errors.New("Exec doesn't exist")
+}
+
+// A fake docker client to simulate start exec failing
+type fakeDockerClientWithStartExecFailure struct {
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithStartExecFailure) CreateExec(opts docker.CreateExecOptions) (*docker.Exec, error) {
+	return &docker.Exec{ID: "123"}, nil
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithStartExecFailure) StartExec(id string, opts docker.StartExecOptions) error {
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithStartExecFailure) InspectExec(id string) (*docker.ExecInspect, error) {
+	return nil, errors.New("Exec doesn't exist")
+}
+
+// A fake docker client to test exec info query failures
+type fakeDockerClientWithExecInfoErrors struct {
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithExecInfoErrors) CreateExec(opts docker.CreateExecOptions) (*docker.Exec, error) {
+	return &docker.Exec{ID: "123"}, nil
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithExecInfoErrors) StartExec(id string, opts docker.StartExecOptions) error {
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (d *fakeDockerClientWithExecInfoErrors) InspectExec(id string) (*docker.ExecInspect, error) {
+	return nil, errors.New("Unable to query exec info")
+}
+
+func expectDockerCheckStatus(t *testing.T, dockerClient DockerClient, status string) {
+	mock := &MockNotify{
+		state:   make(map[string]string),
+		updates: make(map[string]int),
+		output:  make(map[string]string),
+	}
+	check := &CheckDocker{
+		Notify:            mock,
+		CheckID:           "foo",
+		Script:            "/health.sh",
+		DockerContainerId: "54432bad1fc7",
+		Shell:             "/bin/sh",
+		Interval:          10 * time.Millisecond,
+		Logger:            log.New(os.Stderr, "", log.LstdFlags),
+		dockerClient:      dockerClient,
+	}
+	check.Start()
+	defer check.Stop()
+
+	time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond)
+
+	// Should have at least 2 updates
+	if mock.updates["foo"] < 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("should have 2 updates %v", mock.updates)
+	}
+
+	if mock.state["foo"] != status {
+		t.Fatalf("should be %v %v", status, mock.state)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDockerCheckWhenExecReturnsSuccessExitCode(t *testing.T) {
+	expectDockerCheckStatus(t, &fakeDockerClientWithNoErrors{}, "passing")
+}
+
+func TestDockerCheckWhenExecCreationFails(t *testing.T) {
+	expectDockerCheckStatus(t, &fakeDockerClientWithCreateExecFailure{}, "critical")
+}
+
+func TestDockerCheckWhenExitCodeIsNonZero(t *testing.T) {
+	expectDockerCheckStatus(t, &fakeDockerClientWithExecNonZeroExitCode{}, "critical")
+}
+
+func TestDockerCheckWhenExecStartFails(t *testing.T) {
+	expectDockerCheckStatus(t, &fakeDockerClientWithStartExecFailure{}, "critical")
+}
+
+func TestDockerCheckWhenExecInfoFails(t *testing.T) {
+	expectDockerCheckStatus(t, &fakeDockerClientWithExecInfoErrors{}, "critical")
+}