Dog having difficulty adjusting to move??

Question
We have an 8 year old cocker spaniel, Shadow.  We got him when he was 1 and he was house broken when we got him.  I don't think he ever had an accident in the house once until we just moved in July and he has now started having bowel movements in the house.  Previously we lived in a row home and had a fairly small fenced in back yard.  He had no problem going to the bathroom there. In our new house we have a large yard but it is not fenced in and if we let him out in the yard he takes off.  So we put him in our very small fenced in area that we have our hot tub in.  There is only a small patch of grass there.  He started going to the bathroom there but sometimes refuses to go there and walks around wimpering while he is sniffing acting almost like he can't get a scent.  Then he comes in the house and goes to the bathroom.  Especially while we are sleeping when we come down in the morning he has done his business on the carpet.  The other night he was acting guilty so I went in the kitchen and he had gone on the kitchen floor even while we were awake and in another room.  This is very disturbing and we don't know what to do with him.  Last night we put him in a cage to sleep and he was fine with that but today when I left for work I had to put him outside in the small enclosed area.  I won't be able to do that when it gets cold out.  My husband is going to enlarge the area by putting some extra fencing up so we can create a slightly larger area of grass for him.  Do you think moving has upset him?  What would be your suggestion.  Do we have to re-train him?  I am afraid that now that he has started going in the house he will never stop.   Also, my husband tried to discipline him when he came down stairs and saw what he had done.  He yelled at him "bad dog" and gave him a small smack and then picked him up to put him outside and Shadow snapped at him.  He never acted like that before always having a good temperment even with 5 boys growing up and playing with him.  My youngest son who is now 14 is very upset that we may have to get rid of Shadow since he is primarily his pet and he loves him very much.  Please HELP!  

Answer
Hi Barbara!  I can surely understand your concern.  Moving, after that long of being in the same household, can often bring on temporary behavioral problems.  In your old home, your dog had his scent everywhere since he was just a year old.  Now, at 8 years of age, he has been brought to a strange place where his scent is no where to be found.  Dogs, as you probably know, have anal glands.  Every time defecation takes place, the anal glands extract a substance that marks the feces with a scent.  This is why dogs always smell eachother's fecal matter and back sides when they come across eachother.  This is where their scent is!
Because your dog's scent is not as strong to him as it was in your previous home, he is marking his territory...putting his scent in this home.
Defecation can also be a subconcious thing in dogs.  When a dog is stressed or upset, they can unknowingly defecate and don't even realize they have until they smell/see it.  This is a form of anxiety...whether it's subconcious defecation or stress that is causing it...it all comes down to anxiety and stress of this new home.
You may want to talk to your veterinarian about prescribing Amitriptylline for your dog.  Amitriptylline is a medication that is used to stop anxiety in dogs and proves to be a very successful drug.
I hope this helps and please keep me posted,
Hilary