OMG, how timely is this question. I was just coming here to start a thread on this very subject.
It was foggy last night when I got home from work and my driveway is around back in an alley. As I was pulling in I saw a loose dog coming out of my neighbor across the alleys yard. I know his dog, Maya, and she's a real sweet laid back little UNSPAYED pit. His yard isn't fenced and they let her out on a chain and runner set up.
So, like I said, it's foggy - it's dark - and I assumed Maya had gotten loose. Being a good neighbor I tried to get her back. Um.... Turns out it wasn't Maya... It was a similar sized and colored and very sexually frustrated male and he was apparently in NO mood to make my acquaintance. I left him be and he ran off down the alley and I could tell his route by the sound of other barking dogs in the neighborhood.
I'm assuming Maya has come into heat again. Jake wasn't neutered when I got him and Maya went into heat before I could get him fixed and it was a constant headache trying to keep him contained as he tried more and more ways to try to escape.
Since he's been fixed he's a lot less single minded focused on getting out. He'd still run off and chase a squirrel or something if given half a chance but he doesn't have the primal drive he did when he was intact.
The male in the alley last night wasn't from this neighborhood and I have no idea how far he traveled to try to satisfy his breeding imperative, but it was dangerous to him, dangerous to Maya who thankfully was inside by the time he arrived, and could have been dangerous to me if I hadn't paid attention to his body language. Lucky for him too that I'm not one of the "Oh my god there's a vicious killer pitbull loose on my block!" hysterics like too many people are and I didn't call the police or AC. Maybe I should have, but I thought he might not get a fair shake given his current attitude and perhaps he was just going to go back home.
When I go to the WPHS website and look at the lost/found dogs they are almost without exception unfixed dogs that got loose.
If Diesel is a pet and you're not going to breed him I think it's better for his own safety and peace of mind to have him neutered. He may still run off but he won't run off like a crazed Dr. Jeckyl. I wish Maya's owner would get her fixed.
That's my two cents.