Rabbits don't like us humans to redecorate 'their' areas. Even when I rearrange my pet bunnies' room (they have the run of the screen porch,) they have to remark everything (chin rubbing) and will try to move things back. Teeth don't work well for hauling, so it's easier to just nip some things to try to get them to move. Also, bunnies teeth keep growing, so they chomp just to wear the teeth down. And bunnies love a project! Once they decide to start in on that new wallpaper, or new sofa, or new pine tree, they will go back again and again. That's why mine are no longer allowed in the bedrooms. They love to sit and pull carpetfibers out of the backing and will sit and pull fibers till they have a bald spot in the rug, in an OCD kind of way. So, I always plan to protect all new tree purchases when they are being planted in places where bunnies have nested in my yard. Wild bunnies think all new trees must be re-arranged too! Easiest for me is chicken wire around a tomato cage for support.

Dave, thanks for the link. The spruce and fir pruning video is probably the best I've seen. The youtube videos are lacking Ken, I rarely go for the chubby ones...except conifers. In this case I'm looking to for knowledge so when the time is right I can act appropriately. I have a couple pines (see below) that are quite thin. The P. densiflora 'Golden Ghost' only has 4 scaffolding branches and the plant is 3.5' tall. I want to start chubbing up this one as soon as it puts out decent sized candles. Chubby... Not so chubby... And not so chubby again...

Thanks everyone. I pinched the main leader that was the highest candle (not there in the 2 pictures). As of the time of the picture, I left 6 candles in the main whorl hoping 1 in 2 out of 6 will become the primary leader, and the remaining 3 out of 4 i might plan to make it as side branches. I didn't prune the candles in the lower branch whorls since it has been only a month of planting, and didn't want to pinch or shorten more candles. Hoping, I could get a S shaped topiary in few years. And I am not sure if the candles are going to dry up or would open, since it is first year of planting. Hoping for them to open, but not have seen much growth in last 2 days, compared to before a week time.

second and third pix dont help too much due to the sunshine ... first pic. i would probably remove the leftmost leader .. and walk away for this season ... i would not shorten any other leaders or the prime leader ... with such.. imo ... there is always next year ... if you get antsy and do to much.. to fast .. you cant glue them back on ... think in tree time.. counted in decades... and you should see that there is no real hurry with tree pruning ... ken