diff --git a/include/kpn/network.hpp b/include/kpn/network.hpp
index 281b9fa..7af55de 100644
--- a/include/kpn/network.hpp
+++ b/include/kpn/network.hpp
@@ -8,8 +8,10 @@
 #include <memory>
 #endif
 
+#include <condition_variable>
 #include <functional>
 #include <iomanip>
+#include <mutex>
 #include <iostream>
 #include <map>
 #include <set>
@@ -433,9 +435,20 @@ private:
 
     void start_watchdog() {
         watchdog_ = std::jthread([this](std::stop_token tok) {
+            // Interruptible wait, not sleep_for. request_stop() cannot wake a
+            // sleeping thread, so stop_watchdog()'s join blocked for up to a
+            // full interval — three seconds by default, and unbounded for
+            // anyone who set a long one to keep the periodic report quiet.
+            // Every teardown paid it.
+            std::mutex                  m;
+            std::condition_variable_any cv;
             while (!tok.stop_requested()) {
-                std::this_thread::sleep_for(watchdog_interval_);
-                if (tok.stop_requested()) break;
+                {
+                    std::unique_lock lk(m);
+                    if (cv.wait_for(lk, tok, watchdog_interval_,
+                                    [&tok] { return tok.stop_requested(); }))
+                        break;
+                }
 
                 auto s = collect_snapshots();
                 check_hung_nodes();
diff --git a/tests/test_network.cpp b/tests/test_network.cpp
index 9d75f64..59b6659 100644
--- a/tests/test_network.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_network.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 #include <catch2/catch_test_macros.hpp>
 #include <kpn/kpn.hpp>
+#include <atomic>
 #include <chrono>
+#include <mutex>
+#include <stdexcept>
+#include <string>
 #include <thread>
 
 using namespace kpn;
@@ -54,3 +58,36 @@ TEST_CASE("stop disables input channels — producer push is silently dropped",
     in_ch.push(99);
     REQUIRE(in_ch.size() == 0);
 }
+
+// Regression: stopping a network must not wait for the watchdog's next tick.
+//
+// The watchdog looped on std::this_thread::sleep_for(watchdog_interval_), and
+// request_stop() cannot wake a sleeping thread — so stop_watchdog()'s join
+// blocked until the current sleep expired. Every teardown paid up to a full
+// interval, three seconds by default, and a caller who set a long one to keep
+// the periodic report quiet got a stop() that looked like a hang. That is how
+// this was found: the error-handler case above set an hour.
+TEST_CASE("stopping a network does not wait for the watchdog interval", "[network]") {
+    auto node = kpn::make_node<increment>(kpn::in<"v">{}, kpn::out<"w">{}, 4);
+    kpn::Channel<int> out(4);
+    node.set_output_channel<0>(&out);
+
+    kpn::Network net;
+    net.add("inc", node).build();
+    net.set_watchdog_interval(std::chrono::hours(1));
+    net.start();
+
+    // Let the watchdog actually reach its wait. Without this the test races it:
+    // stop_watchdog() runs before the thread has entered the loop, the token is
+    // already set when it does, and it exits without ever waiting — which passes
+    // against the bug as well as the fix.
+    std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(100));
+
+    const auto t0 = std::chrono::steady_clock::now();
+    net.stop();
+    const auto ms = std::chrono::duration_cast<std::chrono::milliseconds>(
+        std::chrono::steady_clock::now() - t0).count();
+
+    INFO("stop took " << ms << " ms");
+    CHECK(ms < 2000);
+}