diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 22bde836e..d6c8f557e 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -74,6 +74,11 @@ matrix:
       services: docker
       before_install:
       addons:
+    - sudo: required
+      env: TOXENV=docker_dev
+      services: docker
+      before_install:
+      addons:
     - python: "2.7"
       env: TOXENV=apacheconftest
       sudo: required
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 89eef5c76..94d6048c3 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -198,3 +198,12 @@ commands =
 whitelist_externals =
     docker
 passenv = DOCKER_*
+
+[testenv:docker_dev]
+# tests the Dockerfile-dev file to ensure development with it works
+# as expected
+commands =
+    docker-compose run --rm --service-ports development bash -c 'tox -e lint'
+whitelist_externals =
+    docker
+passenv = DOCKER_*