diff --git a/doc/3-monitoring-basics.md b/doc/3-monitoring-basics.md
index 5ee3107cd..0306790e1 100644
--- a/doc/3-monitoring-basics.md
+++ b/doc/3-monitoring-basics.md
@@ -1418,6 +1418,9 @@ You can control that option by defining the `disable_notifications` attribute.
 
     disable_notifications = false
 
+If the dependency should be triggered in the parent object's soft state, you
+need to set `ignore_soft_states` to `false`.
+
 The dependency state filter must be defined based on the parent object being
 either a host (`Up`, `Down`) or a service (`OK`, `Warning`, `Critical`, `Unknown`).
 
diff --git a/doc/6-object-types.md b/doc/6-object-types.md
index 37e1872cc..bf2e2d141 100644
--- a/doc/6-object-types.md
+++ b/doc/6-object-types.md
@@ -686,6 +686,7 @@ Configuration Attributes:
   child_service_name    |**Optional.** The child service. If omitted this dependency object is treated as host dependency.
   disable_checks        |**Optional.** Whether to disable checks when this dependency fails. Defaults to false.
   disable_notifications |**Optional.** Whether to disable notifications when this dependency fails. Defaults to true.
+  ignore_soft_states    |**Optional.** Whether to ignore soft states for the reachability calculation. Defaults to true.
   period                |**Optional.** Time period during which this dependency is enabled.
   zone		        |**Optional.** The zone this object is a member of.
   states    	        |**Optional.** A list of state filters when this dependency should be OK. Defaults to [ OK, Warning ] for services and [ Up ] for hosts.
diff --git a/lib/icinga/dependency.cpp b/lib/icinga/dependency.cpp
index 42ed41b2d..59aa76d5b 100644
--- a/lib/icinga/dependency.cpp
+++ b/lib/icinga/dependency.cpp
@@ -131,11 +131,16 @@ bool Dependency::IsAvailable(DependencyType dt) const
 		return true;
 	}
 
-	/* ignore soft states */
-	if (parent->GetStateType() == StateTypeSoft) {
+	if (GetIgnoreSoftStates()) {
+		/* ignore soft states */
+		if (parent->GetStateType() == StateTypeSoft) {
+			Log(LogNotice, "Dependency")
+			    << "Dependency '" << GetName() << "' passed: " << (service ? "Service" : "Host") << " '" << parent->GetName() << "' is in a soft state.";
+			return true;
+		}
+	} else {
 		Log(LogNotice, "Dependency")
-		    << "Dependency '" << GetName() << "' passed: " << (service ? "Service" : "Host") << " '" << parent->GetName() << "' is in a soft state.";
-		return true;
+		    << "Dependency '" << GetName() << "' failed: " << (service ? "Service" : "Host") << " '" << parent->GetName() << "' is in a soft state.";
 	}
 
 	int state;
diff --git a/lib/icinga/dependency.ti b/lib/icinga/dependency.ti
index 062f54b3d..244877c34 100644
--- a/lib/icinga/dependency.ti
+++ b/lib/icinga/dependency.ti
@@ -44,6 +44,10 @@ class Dependency : CustomVarObject < DependencyNameComposer
 	[config] Array::Ptr states;
 	int state_filter_real (StateFilter);
 
+	[config] bool ignore_soft_states {
+		default {{{ return true; }}}
+	};
+
 	[config] bool disable_checks;
 	[config] bool disable_notifications {
 		default {{{ return true; }}}