Advice on re-pointing a patio please.

Nellie, the slabs are very firmly attached, no wobblers, so think it is just the mortar. The badgers have made the problem worse by dropping peanuts in the gaps and scratching them out! I now have a spot further up the garden for feeding them - it discourages them from digging up the beds and veg. plot.

In my single life, I would have used a dry mix and hoped for the best. OH uses proper mortar and it does last a lot longer.

Is it just the pointing that has gone? What about the ballast underneath the patio? If that has been eroded as well all the slabs are going to start to wobble as will any new pointing you put in. Can you lift a slab or two to see just what is underneath.