diff --git a/client/client.go b/client/client.go
index fd1a9c5df..199f1a9bd 100644
--- a/client/client.go
+++ b/client/client.go
@@ -27,11 +27,14 @@ const (
 
 	// registerRetryIntv is minimum interval on which we retry
 	// registration. We pick a value between this and 2x this.
-	registerRetryIntv = 30 * time.Second
+	registerRetryIntv = 15 * time.Second
 
 	// getAllocRetryIntv is minimum interval on which we retry
 	// to fetch allocations. We pick a value between this and 2x this.
 	getAllocRetryIntv = 30 * time.Second
+
+	// devModeRetryIntv is the retry interval used for development
+	devModeRetryIntv = time.Second
 )
 
 // RPCHandler can be provided to the Client if there is a local server
@@ -344,6 +347,14 @@ func (c *Client) setupDrivers() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// retryIntv calculates a retry interval value given the base
+func (c *Client) retryIntv(base time.Duration) time.Duration {
+	if c.config.DevMode {
+		return devModeRetryIntv
+	}
+	return base + randomStagger(base)
+}
+
 // run is a long lived goroutine used to run the client
 func (c *Client) run() {
 	// Register the client
@@ -352,7 +363,7 @@ func (c *Client) run() {
 			break
 		}
 		select {
-		case <-time.After(registerRetryIntv + randomStagger(registerRetryIntv)):
+		case <-time.After(c.retryIntv(registerRetryIntv)):
 		case <-c.shutdownCh:
 			return
 		}
@@ -366,19 +377,21 @@ func (c *Client) run() {
 	go c.watchAllocations(allocUpdates)
 
 	// Periodically update our status and wait for termination
-	select {
-	case allocs := <-allocUpdates:
-		c.runAllocs(allocs)
+	for {
+		select {
+		case allocs := <-allocUpdates:
+			c.runAllocs(allocs)
 
-	case <-heartbeat:
-		if err := c.updateNodeStatus(); err != nil {
-			heartbeat = time.After(registerRetryIntv + randomStagger(registerRetryIntv))
-		} else {
-			heartbeat = time.After(c.heartbeatTTL)
+		case <-heartbeat:
+			if err := c.updateNodeStatus(); err != nil {
+				heartbeat = time.After(c.retryIntv(registerRetryIntv))
+			} else {
+				heartbeat = time.After(c.heartbeatTTL)
+			}
+
+		case <-c.shutdownCh:
+			return
 		}
-
-	case <-c.shutdownCh:
-		return
 	}
 }
 
@@ -422,7 +435,7 @@ func (c *Client) updateNodeStatus() error {
 		c.logger.Printf("[DEBUG] client: %d evaluations triggered by node update", len(resp.EvalIDs))
 	}
 	if resp.Index != 0 {
-		c.logger.Printf("[DEBUG] client: client state updated")
+		c.logger.Printf("[DEBUG] client: state updated to %s", req.Status)
 	}
 	c.lastHeartbeat = time.Now()
 	c.heartbeatTTL = resp.HeartbeatTTL
@@ -431,13 +444,11 @@ func (c *Client) updateNodeStatus() error {
 
 // watchAllocations is used to scan for updates to allocations
 func (c *Client) watchAllocations(allocUpdates chan []*structs.Allocation) {
-	var lastIndex uint64
 	req := structs.NodeSpecificRequest{
 		NodeID: c.Node().ID,
 		QueryOptions: structs.QueryOptions{
-			Region:        c.config.Region,
-			MinQueryIndex: lastIndex,
-			AllowStale:    true,
+			Region:     c.config.Region,
+			AllowStale: true,
 		},
 	}
 	var resp structs.NodeAllocsResponse
@@ -447,7 +458,7 @@ func (c *Client) watchAllocations(allocUpdates chan []*structs.Allocation) {
 		err := c.RPC("Client.GetAllocs", &req, &resp)
 		if err != nil {
 			c.logger.Printf("[ERR] client: failed to query for node allocations: %v", err)
-			retry := getAllocRetryIntv + randomStagger(getAllocRetryIntv)
+			retry := c.retryIntv(getAllocRetryIntv)
 			select {
 			case <-time.After(retry):
 				continue
@@ -464,11 +475,11 @@ func (c *Client) watchAllocations(allocUpdates chan []*structs.Allocation) {
 		}
 
 		// Check for updates
-		if resp.Index == lastIndex {
+		if resp.Index <= req.MinQueryIndex {
 			continue
 		}
-		lastIndex = resp.Index
-		c.logger.Printf("[DEBUG] client: updated allocations at index %d (%d allocs)", lastIndex, len(resp.Allocs))
+		req.MinQueryIndex = resp.Index
+		c.logger.Printf("[DEBUG] client: updated allocations at index %d (%d allocs)", resp.Index, len(resp.Allocs))
 
 		// Push the updates
 		select {