adult dogs peeing on carpet after housebreaking

Question
We have a 3 year old pb English Springer Spaniel and a 18 month old Mutt
(mostly Jack Russell Terrier).  They are (were) both bell trained to go out and
rarely had accidents.  We have never crated them and they are allowed on the
beds but not the sofa (fairly new).
We recently went on vacation for one month and had someone live in our
house to dog-sit.  Our neighbors came to play with the dogs nearly daily as
well.
Upon our arrival home the house smells of urine.  We have just ordered online
an enzyme remover to remove the smell...but the dogs have begun peeing on
the carpet while we are gone for the day.  They are left alone for about seven
to nine hours every day, and someone comes to let them out mid day.
The springer actually was sitting on the sofa when I arrived home yesterday.  I
didn't shout because I knew he's pee.  So I went to the treat box and called
him (them).  He still peed on the sofa!  
The dogs did not behave this way before vacation!  HELP!  Should we begin to
try crating, are they too old?  Should I buy baby gates and lock them in the
kitchen, will the springer jump it?  We love our dogs but if our house smells
like pee all the time my husband will make us get rid of them!  Please help!!

Answer
It sounds like while you were on vacation, the dogs were just left in the house to do what they pleased, and just got into the habit of pottying on the floor because they couldn't hold it anymore. If someone was actually living there full time while you were away, then they should have been taking the dogs out regularly to potty, but it doesn't sound like they were. It also sounds like the dogs may have developed a touch of anxiety about you leaving now, thinking that they are going to be left again.

I would strongly encourage you to consider confining them in some way or another whenever you have to leave, either in crates, in an exercise pen that they cannot jump/climb out of, or by using baby gates. If the spaniel will jump a regular baby gate, then you'll need to get one of the taller ones. I have one that is 3ft tall that works for my jumper, and my aunt has one that's 4ft tall to contain her two dogs.

You may need to practice leaving and coming home so that your dogs can become desensitized to it again. To do this, you would prepare to leave just as you always do, but as soon as you exit the door, you count to 1 and come back in, putting your things away as if you had just come home from work. Repeat over and over again, then gradually start building the amount of time you are outside the door before coming back in. Ignore the dogs for at least 10 minutes, both before you leave and after you come back in.