A stray dog befriended a mountaineering expedition and followed them to the top of a 23,389ft Himalayan peak in what may be a canine first.

The dog named Mera reached the top of Baruntse in Nepal without any assistance and was still able to run once she had reached the summit.

Sherpas accompanying the expedition said they had never seen such a feat and an organisation that documents expeditions said the climb may be the highest recorded for a dog, according to the outdoors magazine Outside.

“I am not aware of a dog actually summitting an expedition peak in Nepal,” said Billi Bierling of the Himalayan Database. “I just hope that she won’t get into trouble for having climbed Baruntse without a permit.”

Dogs have been known to hang out at Everest Base Camp with a height of 17,600ft and follow climbers up to Camp II (21,300 feet), but Mera's climb in November may be the highest recorded, Ms Bierling told the magazine.

The 45lb stray is thought to be a cross between a Tibetan mastiff and a Himalayan sheepdog.

She bounded up to climbers from the Kathmandu-based Summit Club when they were already at a height of 17,000ft and latched on to Don Wargowsky of Seattle.