Older Dog Acting Out

Question
We have two dogs, one is about 4 1/2 and the other is about 2 1/2.  They are both crate trained and have been potty trained since they were puppies.  The older one has recently become very anxious and is pooping in his crate. This has been going on for about a week and a half now.  The last few days he had not been pooping in his crate so I thought he was getting better but then last night he pooped in 3 different spots around the house.
The thing that has changed since he started doing this is me going to work full time but this problem did not start right away, it started a few weeks after. My fiance has always worked full time but I was in school so I would be in and out during the day and now I am not.  It seems, to me, that I have more time to spend with them now that I have more of a consistent schedule and am not spending hours in the evenings doing homework.  
Other then this recent problem he is a great dog. He listens well and is super sweet and we have never had problems with him in the past.  What can I do to fix this?  
Thanks!

Answer
First I'd make sure there is no physical reason he is doing this (parasites, etc.) Make sure you are feeding a high quality, highly digestable food. Low quality foods tend to have a lot of fillers and produce great quantities of poop. Better foods are more digestable and so produce less waste. In the long term the price evens out a bit because you don't feed as much. I would also feed scheduled meals instead of free-feed (leaving the bowl out). It allows you to know when he's most likely to need to go.
When he pooped last night in the house were you home? Or gone? If gone, he could be verging on developing separation anxiety. Lots of times, dogs develop bad habits when household schedules, activites or people change. It's a stress issue. I would work with him on training, self control, and ask him to do things for you for anything he wants - want dinner? You need to down stay while I prepare it? Want to go out? Sit and high five. Make rules for him that are easy for him to understand and create a new routine. Dogs generally don't like change, and they don't like unpredictablity. They love to know what is expected of them and what they can expect. By lowering their anxiety over schedules and what the rules are, you also lower anxiety over specific things. If he's pooping in his crate, do you have other options to contain him for a while? So if he does have an accident he doesn't have to lay in it. You don't say what size dog he is, but if he is small, you might try an x-pen with a litter box (and his open crate or bed inside) Or a bathroom. For the time being I'd be treating him as an unhousetrained puppy. If you can't watch him, he's somewhere he can't get into trouble, and good supervision and frequent trips outside. If he does something when you aren't watching, no sense in fussing about it after the fact. Of course, clean any soiled areas with a good enzymatic cleaner. Just cos it doesn't smell to you doesn't mean he doesn't smell it. Dogs noses are much more sensitive than ours. I'd keep a potty log of when he does what to help you know what his schedule is and help him stick to it. Of course, the high quality food and scheduled meals is very important in this. Good luck. Sandy Case MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com