looks like a cherry tree to me Seems like borers have attacked near the base try to dig them out with a knife and a wire

Thanks Blaze for the kind words. Omni, A taller peach tree actually produces a slightly higher yield than an shorter peach tree. The reason for this is that more annual pruning of fruiting wood is required to keep a peach tree shorter. Most people forgo the slightly better production of taller peach trees in favor of the advantages of keeping them shorter (i.e. easier thinning, pruning and harvesting). Some people like to start their scaffolds higher (and consequently accept taller peach trees) in order to wrap the trunk with materials to keep wildlife from climbing the trunk and eating the fruit. You can start the scaffolds higher and still keep the tree at pedestrian height, but it takes a lot more pruning and you prune off a lot more fruiting wood than if the scaffolds are started down lower. I have one tree I started the scaffolds high and to keep it from growing out of reach I have to keep the canopy very thin. So thin, I've had problems with the scaffolds getting sunburned. Paul Friday, a well-known peach breeder has made the salient point that a peach tree canopy is only going to grow 6 feet of peaches, you might as well grow that 6' of canopy where you can reach it. Since your new, I'll offer a bit more explanation of that comment. Peach trees tend to shade out lower growth. A leaf canopy deeper than 6' will shade any growth below it, so that any growth that starts below the canopy will die. Paul Friday says the number is 6', but I've found even 4' of canopy depth is enough to shade out and kill growth below it. Either way, the point is that the canopy of your tree can be maintained at pedestrian height (0 thru 6 feet), or really high (10 thru 16 feet) the choice is yours. If you choose not the prune the tree, the tree will choose for you and it's choice will be to grow the canopy really high, since in nature the tall peach trees have a survival advantage (less deer browsing, less competition for sunlight, ect.) I wouldn't necessarily trust in the fact that it's a "dwarf" tree, unless I knew specifically it was a genetic dwarf, or knew what rootstock they put it on. Nurseries are notorious for labeling peach trees as dwarfs or semi-dwarfs, when in reality the rootstocks they are using have very little (if any) dwarfing effect.

I had a cherry tree which looked like that which died after a few years. It was canker. Peach is vulnerable as well. Of course, it may be something else. You can send pictures to your extension service. Good luck.

You should look up how to grow peach trees anyway because they do have certain limitations and needs that are likely to come up (sounds like already you have found you are going to have to identify and install some way to keep the squirrels off at fruiting time - and may be seeing a disease problem developing). If you are in the US the web site of the USDA Cooperative Extension Service should have information or links (search "[name of your State] extension").