crate: feeling guilty - should I?

[LaurenBev]

Hi all,
Looking for some insight into my dog's psyche and his feelings about his crate. When we first got Leo (3 weeks ago) I was able to leave him home alone for a few hours at a time, not locked in his crate. However, abut a week and a half ago, he started to poop and pee in the house. I attributed this to separation anxiety and the anxiety of settling into a new home (Leo is a rescue dog, who likely spent the vast majority of his time in an outdoor wire kennel, evidenced by the fact that his front teeth are worn down to tiny stumps, presumably because he was chewing at his kennel to escape it - I digress). Anyway, I started putting him in his crate while I went to work (I work part time, so I didn't feel too guilty crating him for a few hours here and there) and it worked beautifully. No poop or pee in the house, and a seemingly calmer dog when he's free in the afternoons/evenings. But, now he's taken to peeing inside during the night (we let him roam free during the night, but close our bedroom door so as not to wake up with a drooly coonhound in our bed). So, the obvious solution is to crate him at night, right? Well, I'm just feeling guilty about crating my dog for such a large percentage of his life. He seems to be fine in his crate, and I always give him a Kong stuffed with delicious treats to occupy him. I guess in theory, the crate is the obvious answer to solving both our problems (his anxiety at being alone and my stained carpets) but in practice, keeping him crated is making me feel like a bad dog owner! What are people's thoughts on this? Oh, and Leo gets 2-3 walks a day - morning, when I get home from work at 2 and an after dinner walk, so he IS getting exercise while out of the crate. Sorry this is a long post - thanks for reading!
-Lauren & Leo (The Crate Dilemma)