diff --git a/tests/integration/test_docker.py b/tests/integration/test_docker.py
index 3dfae2a..48b7479 100644
--- a/tests/integration/test_docker.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_docker.py
@@ -214,6 +214,7 @@ def test_persist_logs_stores_lines(app):
 def test_persist_logs_respects_toggle_and_exclude(app):
     """Server-side controls (Settings): an excluded container's lines are dropped
     while others persist; the global toggle off stores nothing new."""
+    from types import SimpleNamespace
     from sqlalchemy import text
     from steward.models.hosts import Host
     from steward.core.settings import set_setting
@@ -225,33 +226,41 @@ def test_persist_logs_respects_toggle_and_exclude(app):
         {"container": "noisy", "stream": "stdout", "ts": None, "line": "drop-me"},
     ])]
 
+    hid = str(uuid.uuid4())
+    # Stand-in host: the logs-only persist path reads only host.id, so a plain
+    # object sidesteps ORM attribute-expiry across the commit boundaries below.
+    host = SimpleNamespace(id=hid, name="loghost3")
+
     async def _go():
         async with app.db_sessionmaker() as s:
+            # Back-to-back begin blocks with NO read in between — a SELECT between
+            # them would autobegin a txn and make the next begin() collide.
             async with s.begin():
                 await s.execute(text("DELETE FROM docker_logs"))
                 await set_setting(s, "docker.logs.enabled", True)
                 await set_setting(s, "docker.logs.exclude", ["noisy"])
-                h = Host(id=str(uuid.uuid4()), name="loghost3", address="10.7.7.10")
-                s.add(h)
-                await s.flush()
-                hid = h.id
-                await persist(s, h, [], None, None, batch)
-            kept = {r[0] for r in (await s.execute(text(
-                "SELECT DISTINCT container_name FROM docker_logs WHERE host_id=:h"),
-                {"h": hid})).all()}
-            async with s.begin():          # flip the global kill-switch off
+                s.add(Host(id=hid, name="loghost3", address="10.7.7.10"))
+                await s.flush()   # host row before its log rows (FK order)
+                await persist(s, host, [], None, None, batch)   # web kept, noisy excluded
+            async with s.begin():          # global kill-switch off → nothing stored
                 await set_setting(s, "docker.logs.enabled", False)
-                await persist(s, h, [], None, None, batch)
-            after_off = (await s.execute(text(
-                "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM docker_logs WHERE host_id=:h"), {"h": hid})).scalar()
+                await persist(s, host, [], None, None, batch)
             async with s.begin():          # restore defaults for other tests
                 await set_setting(s, "docker.logs.enabled", True)
                 await set_setting(s, "docker.logs.exclude", [])
+            # Reads only after the last begin block (they autobegin, but nothing
+            # opens a begin() after them). Toggle-off added nothing, so the state
+            # here still reflects the exclude phase.
+            kept = {r[0] for r in (await s.execute(text(
+                "SELECT DISTINCT container_name FROM docker_logs WHERE host_id=:h"),
+                {"h": hid})).all()}
+            after_off = (await s.execute(text(
+                "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM docker_logs WHERE host_id=:h"), {"h": hid})).scalar()
             return kept, after_off
 
     kept, after_off = asyncio.run(_go())
     assert kept == {"web"}      # excluded 'noisy' dropped on ingest
-    assert after_off == 1       # toggle off → no new rows (still just the one 'web')
+    assert after_off == 1       # toggle off added nothing → still just the one 'web' line
 
 
 @_NEEDS_DB