This morning we took the dog out, he peed but didn't seem like he
needed to go further because he ran back inside.

When he was left alone for a few minutes he pooped in the house, in
multiple places in the same room, a same location where he has done
this before.

Since we had just taken him out, is it a reasonable conclusion that he
did this solely to get our attention?

He was doing great for a week, no accidents at all. Now he has them
every day. It's like we took a step backwards.

I read the Puppy Wizard guide to dealing with mistakes like this but
it just doesn't seem practical. The dog does not behave according to
the way the manual claims he should. We can't get him to calmly come
over to the spot and when we drop the can (no matter how quietly) it
startles him and/or he thinks it's something to play with. The only
way to get him away from the spot to allow us to clean it is to
confine him someplace because otherwise he follows us around.

I'm inclined to confine him to the kitchen and give him no attention
at all for awhile. Shouldn't this defeat the purpose of his 'mistake'?
I'm sure the answer is no, but this is very frustrating. I really
believe we are treating this puppy very well, with unconditional
affection and no scolding.