diff --git a/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/monitoring.md b/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/monitoring.md
index 8fa5bc9a1..dfe8d0362 100644
--- a/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/monitoring.md
+++ b/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/monitoring.md
@@ -456,6 +456,13 @@ on this path: agent ingest is not gated on `PULSE_MOCK_KEEP_REAL_POLLING`, and
 the read state is mock-substituted either way, so injecting real hosts would
 only graft them onto fixture data.
 
+Mock alert evaluation preserves the live Docker connectivity boundary. An
+explicitly offline Docker fixture routes through `HandleDockerHostOffline`, not
+the fresh-report `CheckDockerHost` path. Its last container states are unknown
+supporting inventory rather than a new batch of independent exits, so the
+confirmed host incident clears child alerts instead of producing one alert per
+container.
+
 Host and container-runtime disk collection supports an explicit include list
 for filesystems hidden by Pulse's automatic virtual/container filtering. The
 include list is bounded to that automatic filter; explicit disk exclusions
diff --git a/internal/monitoring/monitor_alerts.go b/internal/monitoring/monitor_alerts.go
index ecda885ca..5023b6afe 100644
--- a/internal/monitoring/monitor_alerts.go
+++ b/internal/monitoring/monitor_alerts.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/rcourtman/pulse-go-rewrite/internal/alerts"
 	"github.com/rcourtman/pulse-go-rewrite/internal/alerts/eventlog"
 	"github.com/rcourtman/pulse-go-rewrite/internal/mock"
+	"github.com/rcourtman/pulse-go-rewrite/internal/models"
 	"github.com/rcourtman/pulse-go-rewrite/internal/notifications"
 	"github.com/rcourtman/pulse-go-rewrite/internal/unifiedresources"
 	"github.com/rcourtman/pulse-go-rewrite/internal/websocket"
@@ -629,10 +630,23 @@ func (m *Monitor) checkMockAlerts() {
 	// against mock data.
 	log.Debug().Int("dockerHostCount", len(state.DockerHosts)).Msg("checking docker alerts")
 	for _, dockerHost := range state.DockerHosts {
-		m.alertManager.CheckDockerHost(dockerHost)
+		m.checkMockDockerHostAlerts(dockerHost)
 	}
 
 	// Cache the latest alert snapshots directly in the mock data so the API can serve
 	// mock state without needing to grab the alert manager lock again.
 	mock.UpdateAlertSnapshots(m.alertManager.GetActiveAlerts(), m.alertManager.GetRecentlyResolved())
 }
+
+// checkMockDockerHostAlerts preserves the same evidence boundary as live
+// agent monitoring. An explicitly offline fixture is missing fresh container
+// telemetry; its last container states must not be reinterpreted as a fresh
+// batch of independent exits. The host connectivity lifecycle owns that
+// outage and clears child alerts once the offline confirmation floor is met.
+func (m *Monitor) checkMockDockerHostAlerts(host models.DockerHost) {
+	if strings.EqualFold(strings.TrimSpace(host.Status), "offline") {
+		m.alertManager.HandleDockerHostOffline(host)
+		return
+	}
+	m.alertManager.CheckDockerHost(host)
+}
diff --git a/internal/monitoring/monitor_mock_alerts_test.go b/internal/monitoring/monitor_mock_alerts_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bd0bb9b10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/monitoring/monitor_mock_alerts_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+package monitoring
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/rcourtman/pulse-go-rewrite/internal/alerts"
+	"github.com/rcourtman/pulse-go-rewrite/internal/models"
+)
+
+func TestCheckMockDockerHostAlertsUsesHostLifecycleForOfflineFixtures(t *testing.T) {
+	manager := alerts.NewManagerWithDataDir(t.TempDir())
+	t.Cleanup(manager.Stop)
+	config := manager.GetConfig()
+	config.Enabled = true
+	config.ActivationState = alerts.ActivationPending
+	config.TimeThresholds = map[string]int{}
+	config.DockerDefaults.StateDisableConnectivity = false
+	manager.UpdateConfig(config)
+
+	host := models.DockerHost{
+		ID:          "branch-edge",
+		Hostname:    "branch-edge-01",
+		DisplayName: "Branch Edge",
+		Status:      "offline",
+		Containers: []models.DockerContainer{
+			{ID: "portal-1", Name: "branch-portal", State: "exited", Status: "Exited (137)"},
+			{ID: "sync-1", Name: "branch-syncthing", State: "exited", Status: "Exited (137)"},
+			{ID: "vpn-1", Name: "branch-vpn", State: "exited", Status: "Exited (137)"},
+		},
+	}
+
+	// Prove the fixture would create the child storm if it were incorrectly
+	// treated as fresh online telemetry.
+	manager.CheckDockerHost(host)
+	manager.CheckDockerHost(host)
+	if got := manager.GetActiveAlerts(); len(got) != len(host.Containers) {
+		t.Fatalf("fresh container evaluation created %d alerts, want %d", len(got), len(host.Containers))
+	}
+
+	monitor := &Monitor{alertManager: manager}
+	monitor.checkMockDockerHostAlerts(host)
+	monitor.checkMockDockerHostAlerts(host)
+	monitor.checkMockDockerHostAlerts(host)
+
+	active := manager.GetActiveAlerts()
+	if len(active) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("offline mock host produced %d active alerts, want one host incident: %+v", len(active), active)
+	}
+	if active[0].Type != "docker-host-offline" || active[0].ResourceID != "docker:branch-edge" {
+		t.Fatalf("offline mock host alert = %+v, want canonical host connectivity incident", active[0])
+	}
+}