Cage or let dog run wild when gone?

I have a choc. lab a year and three months old. Now for the past two weeks I've been coming home to poop in the kitchen. We use to have him in a cage but he would cry and pant really bad and would come out soaking wet. So now when we leave we have to take the cushions off the couch hide the garbage. Basically hide everything from him so he doesn't ruin anything. He goes for walks just has bad anxiety when we leave. We tried music leaving lights on. My neighbors say he just doesn't bark but whine the whole time we are gone. How do you fix the spiteful behavior and the anxiety?