diff --git a/datadog/dogstatsd/base.py b/datadog/dogstatsd/base.py
index b039f1d7f..07aaefdbf 100644
--- a/datadog/dogstatsd/base.py
+++ b/datadog/dogstatsd/base.py
@@ -929,11 +929,19 @@ def _reset_telemetry(self):
         self.bytes_dropped_queue = 0
         self.bytes_dropped_writer = 0
         self.packets_sent = 0
-        self.packets_dropped = 0
         self.packets_dropped_queue = 0
         self.packets_dropped_writer = 0
         self._last_flush_time = time.time()
 
+    # Aliases for backwards compatibility.
+    @property
+    def packets_dropped(self):
+        return self.packets_dropped_queue + self.packets_dropped_writer
+
+    @property
+    def bytes_dropped(self):
+        return self.bytes_dropped_queue + self.bytes_dropped_writer
+
     def _flush_telemetry(self):
         telemetry_tags = ",".join(self._add_constant_tags(self._client_tags))