diff --git a/middleware/proxy/setup.go b/middleware/proxy/setup.go
index a6c133f21..3757fbbe3 100644
--- a/middleware/proxy/setup.go
+++ b/middleware/proxy/setup.go
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ func init() {
 }
 
 func setup(c *caddy.Controller) error {
-	upstreams, err := NewStaticUpstreams(c.Dispenser)
+	upstreams, err := NewStaticUpstreams(&c.Dispenser)
 	if err != nil {
 		return middleware.Error("proxy", err)
 	}
diff --git a/middleware/proxy/upstream.go b/middleware/proxy/upstream.go
index 12ec00d76..08795e290 100644
--- a/middleware/proxy/upstream.go
+++ b/middleware/proxy/upstream.go
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ type Options struct {
 
 // NewStaticUpstreams parses the configuration input and sets up
 // static upstreams for the proxy middleware.
-func NewStaticUpstreams(c caddyfile.Dispenser) ([]Upstream, error) {
+func NewStaticUpstreams(c *caddyfile.Dispenser) ([]Upstream, error) {
 	var upstreams []Upstream
 	for c.Next() {
 		upstream := &staticUpstream{
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ func (u *staticUpstream) Options() Options {
 	return u.options
 }
 
-func parseBlock(c caddyfile.Dispenser, u *staticUpstream) error {
+func parseBlock(c *caddyfile.Dispenser, u *staticUpstream) error {
 	switch c.Val() {
 	case "policy":
 		if !c.NextArg() {
diff --git a/middleware/proxy/upstream_test.go b/middleware/proxy/upstream_test.go
index a589cf85e..c48b4446b 100644
--- a/middleware/proxy/upstream_test.go
+++ b/middleware/proxy/upstream_test.go
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ package proxy
 import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/mholt/caddy"
 )
 
 func TestHealthCheck(t *testing.T) {
@@ -75,3 +77,78 @@ func TestAllowedPaths(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func TestProxyParse(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		inputUpstreams string
+		shouldErr      bool
+	}{
+		{
+			`proxy . 8.8.8.8:53`,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			`
+proxy . 8.8.8.8:53 {
+    policy round_robin
+}`,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			`
+proxy . 8.8.8.8:53 {
+    fail_timeout 5s
+}`,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			`
+proxy . 8.8.8.8:53 {
+    max_fails 10
+}`,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			`
+proxy . 8.8.8.8:53 {
+    health_check /health:8080
+}`,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			`
+proxy . 8.8.8.8:53 {
+    without without
+}`,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			`
+proxy . 8.8.8.8:53 {
+    except miek.nl example.org
+}`,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			`
+proxy . 8.8.8.8:53 {
+    spray
+}`,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			`
+proxy . 8.8.8.8:53 {
+    error_option
+}`,
+			true,
+		},
+	}
+	for i, test := range tests {
+		c := caddy.NewTestController("dns", test.inputUpstreams)
+		_, err := NewStaticUpstreams(&c.Dispenser)
+		if (err != nil) != test.shouldErr {
+			t.Errorf("Test %d expected no error, got %v", i+1, err)
+		}
+	}
+}