diff --git a/neutron/agent/linux/keepalived.py b/neutron/agent/linux/keepalived.py
index 80e499e8608..9713486c2cb 100644
--- a/neutron/agent/linux/keepalived.py
+++ b/neutron/agent/linux/keepalived.py
@@ -482,6 +482,8 @@ class KeepalivedManager(object):
                    '-f', config_path,
                    '-p', pid_file,
                    '-r', self.get_vrrp_pid_file_name(pid_file)]
+            if logging.is_debug_enabled(cfg.CONF):
+                cmd.append('-D')
             return cmd
 
         return callback