The one sentence instruction to be a successful dahlia breeder: Breed like to like to get like.
It is all there. You grow, pollinate , collect seeds. sprout seeds, plant seedlings take care of seedlings and all that stuff that gardeners do and that is a given for any kind of gardening. No secrets there and you will be a more successful breeder if you are good gardener. In that one sentence is contained the key to your success. It implies you have goals as you must select the "like" flowers to breed the "like" flowers. You are in charge of the selection and another sentence that may convey the path to successful breeding and it is the old saw "If you don't succeed, try and try again." Breeding dahlias requires lots of attempts because they are octoploid. That actually is irrelevant information as we breeders do not manipulate genes in our laboratories and we just pollinate flowers and hope for good results, Knowing they are octoploid only tells you that you have to attempt more crosses to be successful. So there it is. There is no excuse for a lack of success. 
