In California it is recommended that Apricots be pruned in August to prevent Eutypa dieback, a serious problem with Apricots. Al

I looked up Eutypa dieback would a pruning seal spray prevent that? Even in August there could be rain.

The issue is more "cold and wet" rather than "wet". I lost my 2-year-old Robada because I pruned in January---and it had grown to a healthy 7-8 feet tall the year before. I topped it to keep it at a more-manageable 5 feet, and by April the cut top was gurgling brown ooze that smelled just like old beer. It never leafed out again. :(
Now I summer-prune only for apricots.

Carla in Sac

I heard topping is bad for trees, instead maybe get a dwarf tree?

Topping is bad for trees which have a columnar growth, such as pine trees.
Fruit trees are always severely pruned and trained to grow in certain directions their entire lives, so as to make fruit easier to pick, to keep trunks from getting sunburned, to improve fruiting, etc. Most commercial fruit trees are cut off at 2 feet immediately after planting, so as to force the trees to grow into a vase-like form. If you never "topped" a fruit tree, you would soon be picking apples at 25 feet in the air!(on seedling rootstock, anyway)
Carla in Sac

Carla your experience with the foul smelling ooze sounds more like the bacterial disease "Slime Flux" Al

So topping make fruit trees more like a bush then a tree?

Most sources I have read recommend pruning in the summer. You should cut back about 20% of the new growth. This link gives more information.

http://groworganic.com/organic-gardening/articles/reasons-for-summer-pruning-fruit-trees

Here is a link that might be useful: What's Growing On?

No, tropicalthought, pruning, if done properly, produces an "open vase shape" tree that will bear more fruit and be healthier. It makes them look prettier too. The branches are produced low if you cut off the leader when the tree is young. Here are some photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: images of pruned prunus

Ditto all the comments about pugging your fruit trees. All of mine have been topped to about 3 to 4 feet. I am growing them in an intensive planting system, which Dave Wilson promotes (no doubt to sell more trees, but it works for me, since I want small trees, small individual crops, lots of varieties). Here's a link to Dave Wilson Nursery's info about how to plant and prune fruit trees. It really works well for those of us with limited space, but would like to have maybe more than one peach, plum, nectarine or apricot tree. I have about 20 trees lining a walkway that leads down to the lower part of my yard. It's my little "Walk and Pick" orchard. All my trees will be kept at 8' and below, so I can just reach up and pick my fruit without using a ladder. And, if you look closely at your bare root fruit tree, you'll probably see it may already have been pugged or topped :-) Dave Wilson also has a great YouTube channel as well:

http://www.davewilson.com/video/video_Index.html

Patty S.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dave Wilson Nursery: How to Plant a Fruit Tree

I attended a talk by a Dave Wilson rep and it was very informative. This page from above site explains the method very well. Rather than having a huge amount of fruit all at once within a two or three week span, having a variety of small trees can give you modest amounts of fruit for months and months.

Here is a link that might be useful: backyard orchard culture

That is a good guide, but still I would be too nervous to cut the tree myself. I don't have an apricot, but my friend has one. A mistake would ruin the tree if you were trying to top it.